


I Swallow The Sound (And It Swallows Me Whole)

by Arithese



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: All the Losers have powers, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Experimentation, Found Family, Gen, Georgie Denbrough Lives, Hurt Richie Tozier, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Minor Character Deaths, Past Child Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Richie Tozier has Superpowers, Torture, injuries, powers au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 65,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21704680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithese/pseuds/Arithese
Summary: All the Losers were born with superpowers, with no idea where they came from or how to control them. But unlike the rest of them, Richie grew up in a lab where he was forced to undergo experiments and constant torture. Until one day Georgie goes missing.
Relationships: Georgie Denbrough & Richie Tozier, The Losers Club & Richie Tozier
Comments: 128
Kudos: 274





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So my first multi-chaptered IT story! I really wanted to write a superpowers AU so I did :) 
> 
> The story is set in the summer of '89, but no Pennywise.
> 
> I've written most of the story so far so I'll try to update every week.

Pain.

That was the first thing Richie noticed as he snapped his eyes open, just pain. He didn’t react, body shaking violently as he allowed himself to get used to it. He was used to it, but that didn’t make the pain any easier to bear. But he was used to waking up in pain, didn’t remember a time when he didn’t.

Scrap that, he did remember, but the memories were pushed aside, that didn’t matter anymore.

All that mattered was where he was... how much pain he was currently in and that _this_ was his life right now. He knew that there was no way to escape, so he had long given up on trying, or pretending that the situation would one day be okay, or make the best out of it like he used to do.

His eyes snapped open as another sound was heard, suddenly realising _why_ he had been awoken so suddenly. It wasn’t the pain, he knew that much, otherwise he wouldn’t have fallen asleep in the first place. It had been the noise to wake him up, and he could now clearly hear the familiar sound of his door unlocking.

He immediately scrambling upwards, biting his tongue to hide the shout of pain that was lingering on his lips. His legs felt weak beneath him as he stood, back rigid as he waited for the door to open, and it did all too soon. He blinked a couple of times, watching the entrance with suspicious eyes.

 _Anything_ could happen, and even if he could change nothing about the outcome, he never liked not being prepared. He had learned to be on his toes every moment way too soon. Courtesy of his first ‘roommate’, as he then called it still, and somehow it had kind stuck with him ever since.

“Get in.” A guard huffs, Richie never learned their names, but he recognised them all. There weren’t many after all. Richie bit down harder on his tongue as the young boy stumbled in the room, tears streaming down his face and eyes wide with terror lingering in them, hands bound in front of him.

“New meat.” Guard #3 snickered as he showed his face.

“You left some behind on your teeth.” Richie retorted with a frown, watching as the boy fell to his knees in the haze. Guard #3 frowned, a glare instead forming. They knew him all too well, he was the oldest here now, so he had had plenty of times to figure out how to push the buttons.

Guard #3... hadn’t gone to the dentist in a while.

Suddenly electricity crackled through Richie’s body, and he let out a shout of pain, crumbling through the ground. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to remind Richie to shut up, not like he ever followed that. Him talking back was the last thing he could really do in this place.

“You’re lucky you’re still recovering.” Guard #3 huffs, and Richie shakily gets to his knees, glaring at the man. The guard seems satisfied, turning around and letting the door shut close behind him.

“Fucking ass.” Richie muttered, trying to hide his shaking hands. Then slowly he turns to the younger boy, that was also shaking violently on the ground. Richie sighs, forcing his own pain away for the moment to crawl over to him. He gently reaches out, taking the boy’s hands in his.

Then silently he starts to tug at the knots in the rope, which proved to be much harder while his hands shook, and his whole body was still screaming in pain. But Richie knew he didn’t have to hurry, so he didn’t even try.

“My name’s Richie by the way,” Richie says softly as he manages to untangle one of the knots. The smaller boy sniffles, but he doesn’t look up.

“Where are we?” He asks, voice tight with tears, and for a moment, Richie can only see himself. Sobbing and shaking on the ground while a then older girl frees him from his bonds. He had been this boy’s age probably when he was taken in... he couldn’t really remember, nor did he want to.

That part of his life was over.

“We’re in a lab, nothing too fancy though,” Richie says, pulling the last part of the rope through. “We are here to… they want to run tests on us because of what we can do.” Richie eventually finishes. He knew there was no point in lying to this boy, he had to learn eventually anyways.

And the sooner he understood the danger he was in, the sooner he understood what was expected of him. And the sooner he understood what to do to avoid punishments. Richie winces at that thought, because he knew all too well what happened if the boy wouldn’t avoid them.

“They know I have powers?” The boy whispers shakily, bringing a hand up to his throat. The boy had a similar collar wrapped around his neck. Richie nods. Even though he knew he had to know... that never made it easier.

“That’s why we’re here buddy.” Richie says, and the boy’s eyes widen slightly.

“You have powers too?” He asks, and Richie nods again.

“Not right now though,” Richie grimaces, tapping the collar. “Courtesy of this right here.”

“I can’t feel it anymore.” The boy whispers, and Richie frowns softly.

“Can’t feel what?” He asks, and the boy looks up to him, big tears in his eyes.

“Emotions... I could feel emotions. I knew when my brother was sad... or happy. Or mom... dad. But I can’t... “ Richie could see how much the boy was freaking out, and he made the impulsive decision to pull him into a tight hug. The boy squeaked slightly at the sudden movement but immediately seemed to trust him.

The younger boy wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his face in Richie’s chest.

“I got you pipsqueak.” Richie mutters, holding him close. He knew he shouldn’t do it, there was no use in getting close to this boy... Richie knew he wouldn’t last long, not judging by what he had just heard. But he didn’t care for now, the little boy needed him right now, and he wasn’t going to abandon him like he was.

So, he cradled him close, carting his fingers through his hair and muttering soft words of assurance.

But he knew too well that the boy wouldn’t last long. His powers were useless to them... and the moment they realised that... They’d kill him.

The boy sniffled, sobs subsiding but he didn’t seem ready to let go yet, so Richie didn’t push, just staying silent, until the boy moved his arm, brushing against his side. Richie yelped in pain, and the boy immediately looked at him with big eyes, his entire body stiffening in fear at what was wrong.

“I’m sorry.” He whimpered as Richie grit his eyes, shaking as he tried to let the pain pass. Richie shook his head.

“That’s not your fault.” Richie said, taking the boy’s hands and putting them in front of him. “I just got hurt a little bit.” Richie tries to brush him off but the boy frowns.

“Can I see?” He asks, and Richie tilts his head at that, not expecting _that_. “Mommy helps people with their pain all the time, she showed me sometimes.” He spoke, and Richie can’t help but chuckle slightly at that.

“There’s nothing here to help me,” Richie shook his head. “But if it makes you feel better.” He shrugs, slowly getting up. The familiar pain runs through his system again, but he paid no attention to it, watching as the younger boy stands up as well. His body still seemed to rattle with pain, but he pushed down.

He wishes he could say he barely felt it, because even after so many years - _Shit how many had it been? -_ he still felt the pain.

“So, your mom’s a nurse?” Richie breathes out as he lies down on the cot in the corner, barely thick enough to keep him off the ground. The boy crawls besides him, and Richie takes a deep breath before lifting his shirt up to reveal a patchwork of black and blue, covering most of his right side.

The boy’s eyes widen at the sight.

“Don’t worry, it’s not bad, I’m used to it.” Richie says, pushing the shirt back down. Because really, what else was he supposed to do? There was nothing in the room, except for 2 dirty cots, and a simple toilet with sink.

“I miss her.” The boy whispers suddenly, and Richie looks at him with a soft expression on his face. Because of course he did... Richie did too, even if his parents were giant assholes and he would never see them again.

“I know kid, I’m sorry about that.” Richie whispers, not knowing what else to say. He hesitantly lifts his arm, and the boy takes the invitation to lay besides him, curling up against his side. “Hey you never told me your name, or do you want me to call you pipsqueak forever?”

The boy sniffles softly, but didn’t look up. And for a second Richie was afraid the boy would never speak up.

“Georgie, I’m Georgie.”

*

*

*

“Richie don’t go, please.” Georgie whimpered, wrapping his arms tighter around the older boy. Richie swallows thickly, shaking his head.

“I have to go Georgie, you know that.” He says hurriedly, glancing at the door, he knew they would be there any moment, and he didn’t want Georgie to do something wrong, not again. Georgie whimpered again, but he too knew that there was no option, so he took his arms back, hugging himself instead.

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Richie said, standing up. He had to wait for them to arrive, so they could take him immediately. More test… more training maybe. But he was used to that by now. The door slammed open, and Richie flinched involuntarily, and he could hear Georgie whimper behind him.

Richie moved his arms up without having to be told, putting them on his head and turning his back to the entrance. The guards didn’t speak either, marching in and grabbing his arms. Richie keeps his gaze on Georgie, trying to smile as they grabbed his arms and restrained him tightly.

They lead him away quickly, leaving Georgie behind in their shared room. Richie doesn’t say anything, fighting the urge to throw up. The walk was never easy, no matter how many times he had done it before. The building was cold, empty and filled with rows of doors... prison cells just like his.

He knew only a handful were filled though, there weren’t many supers, what they called them, that they had been able to capture, and most were killed off the moment they were deemed useless. Richie had seen many kids come and go throughout the years, some just for being annoying.

And apparently they had deemed him too special to be killed off, because no amount of annoying managed to get him killed... he tried, he tried for months when his last roommate was killed for mouthing off too much, and he was done, but they never pulled the trigger on him, just hurt him more.

So, he learned to stop mouthing off so much, just comments here and there with guards.

Richie was led into the same lab, and he really knew better than to struggle against the guards but that didn’t mean they were any less cautious. They unlocked one wrist from his binds, only to lock it to the table, and before he knew it, he was on the same damn table again, completely immobile.

“Comfortable 0704?” Guard #3 mocked, and Richie grimaces, sending him a glare.

“As comfortable as your mom was las-” He didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence, a fist connecting with his face. His head flew back, knocking back against the table. Richie groans, swearing under his breath.

“Jesus fuck, you couldn’t have taken my glasses off first?” Richie spews, blinking at the obvious cracks in his glasses. Guard #3 snorts, grabbing his glasses and tossing them on the ground. “Oh, shit man, you’re paying for that.” Richie snickers softly, but the guard seemed unfazed.

He had gone through so many glasses while he was here, and the only reason he got new ones was because he was basically blind without them, and therefore useless if he had to show off his powers. But they had taken them away more times than he could count as a punishment as well.

“No need, you’re not gonna need them anymore.”

“Oh jolly, they’re finally stabbing out my eyeballs?” Richie deadpans, feeling blood trickle down his face. “Great, now I don’t have to see your ugly face again.” Guard #3 was about to hit him again but guard #5 stopped him, always the darling.

“You’ll get your chance tonight.” The guard says, and Richie frowns slightly. Guard #3 huffs, eyeing him but Richie couldn’t respond anymore as he was wheeled into the next room. Richie swallowed thickly, _great, more tests_.

They prodded him from what felt like hours, taking blood, reading his vitals, but nothing _too_ bad. No, Richie knew that would come afterwards. He was eventually released from the table, and he stumbled a moment before regaining his footing. He didn’t have long to do so anyways before he was led to the training room, glasses pushed back onto his face again.

“Seriously guys? It’s been what, how many years? The silent treatment is getting old.” Richie huffs, but of course the guards wouldn’t budge, unlike guard #3, that one was always easy to rile up. These ones however, #1 and #7 weren’t. Richie eyes the room as he was led in, only spotting one other person.

Miles was standing in the room as well. The boy was a little younger than he was, at least, he probably was. Neither of them knew how long they had been in here, the guards never gave exact dates, but Richie had been in the lab for a while when Miles had come in, and he was a little older than Richie had been.

They just rolled with it, and it wasn’t like it was important anyways. They barely interacted; the lab didn’t allow it. The only reason they allowed roommates was so that they could use your bond with that person against you.

“You know what to do.” Guard #7 grunts, lifting one of the key cards and pointing it at Richie’s neck. Immediately Richie could feel his power surge back to life, and he shuddered for a moment. He never got used to that, and he allowed the power to wash over him, fill his veins throughout his body.

The power around him blew wind from his face, causing his hair to go in all different directions. He focused his power, felt it building up, allowing it to drip down his arm.

“Tonight can’t come soon enough, I’m sick of dealing with these stupid supers.” A new voice suddenly entered the room, and he knew... he knew that the next move was nothing but a suicide move, but he pulled the sound towards him, towards him and Miles... and he was glad he did.

“I can’t wait to kill them.” The sentence rung through the room, for everyone to hear it. Richie whirled around, eyes widening. All three guards did the same thing, and for a moment he caught Miles’ gaze, but that alone said enough. He had heard it as well, heard what they were going to do.

And they had to fight, right now.

Richie didn’t hesitate, pulling the power back to his lungs before he let loose.

Shockwaves rippled through the room, a shrill sound that ripped open the floor, before slamming 2 guards against the wall. Their heads cracked backwards, denting the wall. The last guard jumped out of the way, rolling over the ground to grab his gun. Electricity crackled besides him.

Before he could comprehend it, Miles whirled his arm around, shooting lighting at the guard. The guard yelped, but managed to evade the attack, and then shot at him.

“Shit.” Miles cursed, barely managing to put up a shield of lightning to block the bullet. Richie pulled at his power again, feeling the sound conform towards him like he wanted to before letting out another shout. But before he could watch if the attack hit, he felt his body seize up suddenly.

He cried out; body crumbled as pain ripped through him. He fell to the ground harshly, and he let another ripple loose from his lips, uncoordinated. He could hear something shatter around him, a loud bang but the pain didn’t stop. More screams were around him, but he couldn’t pinpoint anything.

All he felt was the pain, and then it was gone.

“C’mon!” Miles cried out, tugging at his arm. Richie spluttered, chest heaving but he allowed Miles to pull him to his feet. “We have to go, now!”

“Not without Georgie.” Richie snapped, pulling his arm away.

“Of course we aren’t, but we have to go.” Miles snapped right back at him, a determined expression on his face. Richie nodded, running after Miles. They barely managed to make it to the hallway when the alarms started going off.

“Fucking shit!” Richie cursed; eyes wide as he looked at Miles. “How do we open the-” He started, but electricity already crackled from his hands, shooting it at the nearest locks.

“Just get to the boy.” Miles told him, and Richie nodded, sprinting away. One, two, three, _four_ rooms later he reached his cell, one he knew too well. He breathed in, sending another sound wave at the door, breaking the lock with an almost anticlimactic ease. After so many years…

Richie put the thought away, pushing the door open. Georgie was already up, wide eyes looking at him.

“We’re getting out, now!” Richie yells, holding out his hand. Georgie luckily trusted him enough to not ask questions, running over to him and grabbing his hand, as they started running.

Richie didn’t _truly_ experience what was going on, he just knew he was running on autopilot right now. He just knew he was running, running after Miles and the rest of the kids, until they were outside. He felt power surge through him, feeling stronger than ever, stronger than he had felt in years.

There were guards, too many guards and yet, they were terribly outmatched. Miles had managed to take off most of the collars, only 2 supers couldn’t use their powers, and Georgie and Richie were still wearing their collars. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t fight; the collar just sits around his neck like a useless piece of junk.

So he fought, letting sound ripple through the air, striking every guard he could see. He knocked down another one, grabbing Georgie’s hand and running, until he came to an abrupt stop.

“Of course it had to be you, you were always a pain in my ass.” Guard #3 growled, standing in front of him. Richie buzzed, feeling the power build up until he released it, or at least... he tried to. Before he could, he suddenly felt his throat closing up, and the power instead rattled through him.

He cried out, scrambling at his throat. He couldn’t get a word out, a sound, anything. He could still feel his power, could feel it coursing through his body, but he couldn’t make a sound, couldn’t redirect it, couldn’t use it. And the guard knew it, he knew how his powers worked.

“You little shit,” The guard spit, kicking him, _hard_. He choked, pain spreading through his chest, feeling his ribs scream in protest. “I’ve been wanting to do that for years.” Another kick, to his side.

Richie choked, trying to curl into himself. There was fighting all around him, alarms still blazing. They got so far; he couldn’t give up now... he had to fight against it. _Where was Georgie?_

Richie squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the next kick but it never came. Something clattered to the ground.

“Richie?!” Georgie’s panicked voice came through, and he felt two small hands on his shoulders, shaking him. He snapped his eyes open, whirling around to find the guard, staring wide eyed at Georgie, and Richie knew that the momentary confusion was Georgie’s doing. He had gotten a lot better in controlling his powers.

But his powers weren’t made for fighting...

“I should’ve killed you a long time ago.” The guard spat, reaching into his belt and pulling out the gun. And Richie knew... there was no way to stop it. In that second he was still wheezing, trying to catch his breath, and unable to shield himself. And before he could even think about it, the gun went off.

But the pain never came.

Richie almost wished he didn’t look in the first place, because nothing could’ve prepared him for the sight. Blood spreading across Miles’ stomach. Richie immediately scrambled to his feet, forcing his lungs to expand before letting out a ripple wave of sounds, sending it straight at guard #3.

“Miles!” Richie cried out, stumbling over. But the moment he reached the younger boy he knew… he knew he was too late. “Goddamnit.” Richie cursed, and Georgie’s breath hitched besides him, of course he would... this was the first time he had truly seen a dead body... not for Richie though.

Richie pushed the thought away, running over to guard #3, head bashed in and undoubtedly dead, before taking the key card.

“C’mon!” Richie ordered, grabbing Georgie’s hand again and just... running. He ran past the bodies littering the battlefield, both guards and children. And he only had one thought in mind, _get Georgie out_.

Two guards were standing near the gate, and Richie could see them shooting at 3 other kids, who were desperately trying to defend themselves. One of them had a shield thrown up, while the other two threw attacks from the side, one throwing rocks and the other one throwing energy balls.

Richie immediately ran towards them, pulling Georgie along to stand behind the shield. He barely knew these people, but he knew enough about them. He could trust them, he knew that, and he knew what their powers could do, and what their limitations were, he had seen it in action multiple times.

Wind whipped around him as he let the power wash over him again, unleashing it onto the guards. Their eyes widened, jumping out of the way again. It was three against 2 right now. Richie whipped his head around, back towards the main building, and more guards ran up to them with guns.

Richie was just in time to turn around, letting out another screech to block the bullets, and within seconds the shield went up between him and the guards. He glances around, the shield gone on the other side, _leaving Georgie exposed._ Richie bolted forwards, stepping in front of Georgie just as one of the guards started shooting again.

It wasn’t good enough, his lungs not expanding properly, hurting as screams started ripping from his throat as he tried to stop the bullets, but one slipped past his defence, ripping at his skin. He cries out, an uncoordinated attack going towards the guards. It blew up the ground, chunks of grass flying everywhere.

“Richie!” Georgie cries out but he didn’t pay attention to it, gritting his teeth. They were running out of options, and he had to act fast. The five of them... he could see that now; they were the only ones left. The rest of the Supers were littered all over the battlefield, dead, or otherwise they’d be dead soon.

Richie groans, inhaling and letting out a shockwave. The two other supers seemed to take advantage of that, throwing an energy ball into his wave, and that stuck one of the two guards, knocking him out as well,

“I can’t hold this much longer.” The shield groans, and Richie could see sweat trickling down. Richie pants harshly, pain spreading and spreading. He could still feel his power, but his throat ached, and he knew he couldn’t hold on much longer either. “Holy sh-” That was the only warning he got.

He shifted on his feet, brows furrowing as he whirled around. And he was just in time to see a grenade being shot right at them.

“NO!” He shouted, sounds rippling around him. Pain shot right to his vocal cords but he didn’t care, unleashing everything he had to shield the area around him. The grenade collided with the field and that seemed to do it. For a split-second Richie could see the shield cracking, before everything exploded around him.

It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds when he managed to blink enough to see again. The world came into focus, but he almost wished it hadn’t. He scrambled to his feet almost as soon as he could, wide eyes searching for Georgie. His stomach turned violently at the sight.

His left arm was littered with burns, but he was _breathing._

“Get up.” Richie hisses, grabbing Georgie by the arm. Only Georgie and the other kid were left. The shield girl wasn’t moving, in the middle of the blast, and even the kid who was throwing the rocks had a bullet between his eyes. “Hold on to me.” Richie ordered, grabbing the girl’s arm and picking her up as fast as he could.

He ignored his own pain, the blood leaking into his shirt and the way his lungs would scream at him to stop. He just ran as fast as he could, using the rising smoke from the grenade as a cover, and leaving all the other kids behind. He just ran, only focusing on one single thought in his mind.

 _He got two out, he got Georgie out_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked the first chapter, and if you did, please let me know! 
> 
> Powers so far:  
> Richie: Sound manipulation  
> Georgie: Manipulate emotions
> 
> Richie's powers were inspired by Yuuki from Code Breaker, if you guys want to get a sense of how his powers look.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! Thank you for all the comments!! They mean the world to me! I'll try updating next Saturday as well, I have a rough draft but I also have 2 exams coming up and I have to move back to my home country so wish me luck. :P  
> For now, enjoy the next chapter!

_“William please come inside.” His mother’s voice spoke up, but Bill didn’t react, sniffling a tiny bit. He could hear his mother walk up to him, and then the rain above him suddenly stopped. “Sweetie, please.” His mom whispers, crouching down next to him and putting a gentle hand on his shoulder._

_Bill flinches at the touch, finally looking up from the spot on the street. His mom was holding an umbrella above his head, but water was still dripping down his hair, drenching his clothes, his hair, his entire body. He was absolutely drenched, soaked to the bone._

_“I c-c-can’t just leave G-G-.... l-leave Georgie.” Bill stutters, and he had no clue when the rainwater ended, and where his tears started. He felt numb, not even feeling the cold that the rain caused. He felt horrible, and yet, he didn’t feel anything._

_“You’re not leaving him, Bill.” His mom shook her head, brushing his hair back._

_“It f-feels like I a-a-am.” He sobbed, breaking down again. Georgie’s disappearance had been hard on all of them, but Bill seemed to notice it the most. They all loved Georgie, no questions asked, but Bill had been Georgie’s big brother, always spending time with him and taking it upon himself to teach as much as he could._

_And Bill had taken it upon himself to pick up the blame._

_His parents hadn’t been home yesterday, so it was just Bill and Georgie together. His parents hadn’t doubted in him, and yet he fucked up so badly. He had pretended to be sick, because he didn’t want to go outside and play in the rain, he thought Georgie would be alright on his own, he always was any other day._

_“But you’re not, and we’re gonna find him.” His mom tries again, and Bill shakily looks up. His mom reaches out gently, still holding the umbrella up, and brushes the tears away as much as she could, but his hair was still dripping. “But you can’t punish yourself like this baby, you have to go inside.”_

_Bill nods silently, allowing his mom to help him up._

_“How d-did you find m-me?” Bill asks, keeping his gaze down._

_“Becky is here, you missed her appointment.” His mom says as they walk back to the house, Bill shaking against his mom. Becky was his speech therapist, a middle aged woman with faded auburn hair, who just recently started working as a speech therapist, and the first one in years Bill really seemed to be able to connect with, despite her age._

_But he felt comfortable around her, and his speech had improved a lot._

_“She says that it was no problem, she understood.” His mom continues, and Bill understood that mom had told her about Georgie. He had no idea if he should be happy she knew but at the same time he felt detached, nodding numbly as they walk back in. Immediately his dad was there, wrapping a blanket around him._

_His body started to shake more, but he keeps his gaze down, allowing his father to drag him back into the living room, he owed them that much after probably freaking them out. He didn’t know what he was thinking, running around the neighbourhood like that in the hopes that he would find Georgie._

_It was pouring, and he was supposed to meet up with Becky.. but he couldn’t get himself to care._

_“Hey champ.” Becky says softly, standing in the corner of the room with an awkward smile on her face. Her short curly hair was also wet, but not as much as his hair was, and his mom had given her a special cloth to dry her glasses with. “You scared the heck out of us today.” Bill almost snorts at the sentence._

_Becky was usually a lot more vulgar, which is also what made him like her so much. It was clear she was holding back for his parents._

_“S-s-sorry.” He could barely manage out_.

“There’s absolutely no fucking way I’m going in there Bill.” Eddie retorts loudly, voice echoing and staring at the entrance of the sewers. Bill blinks a couple of times to snap himself out of the memory before he turns around, frowning slightly.

“ _But Georgie_.” Bill communicates, and Stan shakes his head.

“Stop doing that Bill.” Stan says, sending a glare towards his friend. Bill on the other hand didn’t pay attention to it, turning back into the sewers again as if he hadn’t heard Stan’s complaint. It wasn’t like they hated his voice in their heads, it was the reason _why_ he did it that angered them.

Not like anger was the right word, more outrage because Bill felt like he had to.

“ _He could’ve ended up here from the rain, dad and I mapped it out_.” Bill communicated with them again, and neither Eddie nor Stan thought it was weird to have the voice in their head.

“Use your words Bill.” Eddie murmured, but Bill doesn’t react. Many times his powers were a gift, they could use it in class, communicate with each other in school even if they weren’t in the same classroom. Although that last one took more out of Bill because of the distance, but it was useful.

They could talk without actually talking, discuss things in secret and not risk someone overhearing them. But also; Bill’s stutter was gone when he was in his head, his thoughts didn’t stutter, so nor did the voice in their heads. Which was a blessing, but also a curse for Bill all the same.

He started hating speaking up more and more, preferring to just communicate telepathically.

“I’m sorry Bill but I’m not going in there, my mom will kill me if she even smells this.” Eddie’s nose wrinkles at the odour.

“If you don’t die first that is.” Stan comments and Eddie huffs, blowing a gush of wind his way. Stan splutters as sand hits him, sending a glare towards the smaller boy. “Stop that.” Stan hisses, eyes darting around. The last thing they needed was for someone to see them use their powers. 

It wasn’t safe to show that they had powers, who knows what would happen if that word got out?

_“Guys”_ Bill suddenly started, just in time before something splashed behind them. All three boys whirled around, staring at another boy. _“Do you guys feel that?”_ Bill asks, quickly walking back to the rest. Eddie and Stan were staring at the boy in the water, bleeding from his stomach and panting harshly.

“ _He is like us.”_ Eddie communicates back, and only then does the boy seem to realise he had company, snapping his head up. 

_“Another Super.”_

*

*

*

Richie had no idea how long it had been, but he just knew he was running, ignoring the way his lungs burned, begging him to stop. He didn’t stop, only tightening his arms around the little girl in his arms, making sure Georgie was still by his side, and he just continued to run, not even _thinking_ about stopping.

“Richie!” Eventually it was Georgie who stopped him. Richie came to a stop, whirling around. Georgie was heaving, trembling on his feet. Richie’s face crumbled, walking back to the smaller boy.

“Are you okay?” Richie asks softly, and Georgie looks up to him with wide eyes. Richie felt waves of relief wash over him, and over the last 2 months he learned to recognise when Georgie was using his powers, as he was often the person Georgie was forced to practice it on in the first place.

Tears started to well up in Georgie’s eyes, and Richie could feel the waves of relief make way for Georgie’s fear.

“I’m scared Richie.” Georgie whispers, and the little girl stirs in his arms at that, sobbing softly. There was blood splattered all over Georgie, both his clothes and his exposed skin. Richie sighs, glancing around until his eyes landed on small river near them, glancing back at Georgie.

“I know pip squeak, me too.” Richie says. “C’mon.” He adds, and Georgie eyes at him as they walk over to the water.

“I know you’re scared, Chee.” Georgie whispers, putting a hand on his arm. Of course Georgie could feel how scared he was.. it was one of the things he could never hide from Georgie when his powers were working, and neither could he right now. They were all afraid, they were all in pain, and there was no use in hiding it.

After all they had been through together..

They were all silent as Richie led them to the water, carefully putting the girl in his arms down. His arms shook, but he paid no attention to it, turning his attention to the two younger kids instead. 

“Hey, can you tell me your name?” Richie asks softly as he tears of a piece of his shirt, wetting it in the water. The girl whimpers.

“Betty.” The girl whispers, and Richie nods softly, carefully reaching for her arm and rubbing at the blood.

“Hi Betty, my name’s Richie.” Richie smiles softly, continuing to clean up the blood as much as he could.

“Richie?” Betty whispers as Richie started cleaning her face, and he could see her small hands shaking, tears leaking from her eyes. Richie looks up. “I think something is wrong with me.” She whispers, and for a moment Richie frowns. _Wrong with her?_ Richie had no idea what she meant.

But then her shaky hands travelled to her shirt, and Richie understood before she even lifted it up.

“Betty.” Richie breathes out, feeling tears jump in his eyes. Shrapnel was buried in her stomach, leaking blood slowly but steadily.

*

*

*

“I’m a what?” Ben asks with a bewildered expression, and Eddie eyes him with a sceptical look.

“So you don’t know?” He asks, glancing at Bill. Immediately he felt the familiar pull of Bill’s powers prodding at him, linking their minds. _“What if we’re wrong?”_ He asks, but Bill shakes his head.

“ _He’s a super, I can feel it. We’ve never been wrong before.”_ Bill says, glancing at Ben as well.

_“Well hard to be if there are only 3 of us.”_ Stan retorts, and Bill sends him a glare.

_“Four.”_ He corrects, and Eddie swallows at the mention, or rather implication of Bill’s little brother Georgie. It had only been 2 months, and the disappearance was still fresh in all of their minds. Bill still wouldn’t let go that Georgie might be gone forever.

“A Super.” Eddie supplies to Ben as he bandages the boy, ignoring the hisses of pain for now. “Someone with superpowers, we can sense each other.” He explains, glancing at the rest.

“Is that what that feeling is?” He asks, and Bill nods.

“We all f-f-feel it.” Bill stutters, gesturing between the four of them.

“It’s why we’re friends.” Eddie continues with a shrug.

“Not like there were many other options.” Stan rolls his eyes.

“I thought I felt something with you Ben from Soc.” A new voice cuts in, and all four boys whirl their heads around to look at the red haired girl from the store.

_“She knows.”_ Bill immediately spoke in his mind, and Eddie winced, tensing at the girl. He could feel power leaking to his fingertips, preparing to fight their way out of it. But he also knew that they stood no chance if it came down to it. Sure they could probably defeat one girl, but that didn’t matter if she told.

The girl eyes at them for a split second because laughing. “Don’t worry, I’m like you guys.” She says nonchalantly, and Eddie narrows his eyes.

“Proof it.” He says, and the girl shrugs, holding up her hand, palm up. Then, a tiny flame erupted from her hand, big enough for them to see it, but small enough to not draw too much attention. And as quickly as it appeared, the girl hid it again, closing her hand around the flame to get rid of it.

“Is that enough?”

*

*

*

“She’s not gonna make it is she?” Georgie asks softly, but Richie shakes his head.

“She’s going to be fine, we’re getting closer to a city, someone can help her there.” Richie denies, glancing over at Georgie. Betty was cradled close to his chest, fast asleep against him. That’s pretty much all she has been doing in the last 2 days, the injuries taking a toll on her body.

Georgie pushed a wave of happiness at him, and he could feel himself relax a bit more. Georgie looks at him with a knowing look, because of course he couldn’t hide his emotions from him.

“C’mere.” Richie muttered, stretching his other arm. Georgie sighs, snuggling close to Richie’s other side. Richie groans as Georgie jostles his side, and Georgie looks up at him with scared eyes. His injuries weren’t a secret either, couldn’t keep it a secret from them even if he wanted to.

A bullet wound on his side, the bullet ripping at his side but luckily not entering his body. His chest and stomach filled with deep bruises that made it hard to breathe all the time, and various other cuts and bruises from the fight and the explosion that wiped out everyone else except him, Georgie and Betty.

Georgie puts a gentle hand on his stomach, and he could feel body filling up with relief, the emotions always stronger if Georgie made physical contact. He smiled down, silently thanking him. He pulled Georgie closer, and the younger boy buried his face in the crook of Richie’s neck.

This time Richie didn’t need Georgie’s powers to relax, and he could feel his muscles unwind.

_“Bill is the best big brother, he used to make boats for me when it was raining.” Georgie smiled brightly and Richie can’t help but mirror it. The collars were still on, activated as usual, and Richie knew there was no way Georgie was manipulating his emotions with his powers right now._

_But that didn’t mean Georgie’s happiness didn’t affect him._

_“He did huh?” Richie muses, watching Georgie on the other side of the cot. “Tell me about him.” Richie continues, watching him thoughtfully. He shifts slightly, wincing as he feels the stitches in his stomach pull slightly. It was another round of experimentation, another filled experiment they did on him._

_But Richie could handle it, had been dealing with it for years._

_“He stutters a lot, he doesn’t like that but I don’t mind.” Georgie smiles sadly, head lowering slightly. “He wrote me a lot of stories, used to read them to me when he was done. I liked hearing his stories.” Georgie adds._

_“What kind of stories?” Richie asks, eyeing at Georgie. It had been days.. 2 weeks at most, but he had already grown so attached to the younger boy, something he knew he shouldn’t be, it was one big recipe for disaster. They could use it against him, hurt Georgie to get him to comply with the scientists._

_Georgie smiled brightly at the question._

_“All kinds!” Georgie exclaims. “But I really loved the fantasy stories. He would write about a kingdom far away from here, where everyone like us would live together and be happy. There was this big castle and we were together, ruling over the Kingdom.” Georgie rambles happily._

_“King George huh?” Richie snickers, and Georgie nods excitedly. And for the next hour, Georgie would ramble about all the stories Bill had told him, about ruling the kingdom, the magical sea turtles that lived in the ocean that they were friends with, the scary monster that lived underground._

_Richie just watched contently, allowing his mind to wander to a possible future where he could get Georgie home_.

*

*

*

“That makes no sense, I’ve never had that… I never even felt this way before meeting you guys.” Ben mumbles, glancing around the room. They were back at Bill’s house, all huddled around the living room.

“Maybe they’re not noticeable enough?” Beverly asks, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

“G-G-Georgie didn’t know either.” Bill supplies softly, and Stan puts a gentle hand on Bill’s shoulder, squeezing softly. Bill looks up, and the look on his face was enough for Eddie and Stan to understand, he didn’t even need to link up their minds to do so. Bill wanted Ben and Beverly to know, but he didn’t want to tell.

Eddie groans, rubbing his face.

“Georgie is Bill’s little brother, he had powers too but he couldn’t do what we could, he could alter emotions. He only figured it out that he was the one doing that because he wondered why Bill had powers, and he didn’t.” Eddie tries to explain, glancing at Bill as a way to make sure he was okay.

But Bill just looked at his shoes, as if they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the room. Georgie had been a sore subject for 2 months now, ever since he went missing in May.

“Exactly, maybe you just haven’t realised you can do something no one else can.” Beverly nodded, and Ben glances up at her.

“I mean, maybe.” He shrugs slightly.

“We can help you find it.” Stan supplies, and Ben looks at him.

“You would?” He asks, mouth agape.

“Sure, why not? We helped each other with our powers as well, we only have each other in this world, you’re the first two other supers we’ve met in years.” Eddie says.

“So what are your powers?” Ben asks shyly. Eddie glances up at the rest, as if he was silently asking them if it was okay for him to tell. But it wouldn’t have mattered much anyways, Ben and Beverly already knew enough to endanger them, and besides, they were supers as well.

Even if Ben didn’t know what his power was yet.

“I can control the air, Stan can levitate stuff, and Bill can link minds together.” Eddie quickly explains, and Bev’s eyes lit up at the explanation.

“Wait you can?” Bev asks excitedly, looking at Bill. The other boy shrugs slightly.

_“Yeah I can.”_ He says, and Bev winces slightly at the sudden voice in her head, but a grin appears on her face nonetheless.

“ _That’s so freaky.”_

*

*

*

_She had been so cold_.

That was the only sentence stuck in his head. So cold.. ice cold, like he was hugging a cooling element. She had been tugged in his embrace, in a futile attempt to keep her warm, to keep her safe. But it did nothing, or maybe it did. But Richie couldn’t get himself to think like that anymore.

To think that he did something by holding her; make sure she was not alone, and that she felt safe.

But that didn’t matter, because she was still dead, eyes closed as if she was sleeping but body ice cold. She had died overnight, she must have, and maybe she was already dead when Richie closed his eyes to sleep. Maybe he had been talking to her when she was already gone.

Richie shook his head, no no no, he couldn’t think like that. He had felt her breath, shaky and unsteady against his neck. She was barely responsive but he could feel her breathing, assuring him that she was still alive, even if Richie knew she wouldn’t be if they didn’t get to a town soon.

But what was he expecting really? He couldn’t just drop her off at the hospital, they’d ask questions, they would ask who he was, what happened. The moment they discovered they were supers they would be recaptured again. He had no idea if the world even knew about Supers in the first place, were there more of them outside?

“Chee?” Georgie whispered besides him, but Richie sobs, shaking his head. He could feel a familiar wave push against him, and he shook his head.

“Don’t.” He said, not looking at the boy he had long started considering his younger brother now. “Just don’t.” He shook his head, trying to push Georgie away, but he also knew that he couldn’t fight against Georgie’s power, not unless he would physically hurt the boy, but Georgie took the hint.

The retreat of his powers made Richie shiver, almost as if it suddenly exposed him to the harsh elements.

It was summer, almost too humid outside, but that didn’t mean he felt any less cold.. he felt frozen, unable to move. He could feel the ground digging into his knees, soaking the thin pants he was wearing, and he was cold, ice cold. Richie froze at the thought, hands gripping his hair.

He felt cold.. cold like Betty.. her body against his. He had been shivering when he woke up.. and for a moment, he had no idea why.

“It’s my fault.” He chokes out, tugging at his curls, as if he wanted to tear them from his head. The sentence broke something in his, as if the silence had been the only thing to hold him together. “I killed her.” Another sob left his throat, but he didn’t feel sad anymore, the sadness was gone.

“Chee that’s not-” Georgie started but Richie didn’t let him finish. His hands shook, and he could feel the power building up in his throat again. Pain racked through his system, reminding him over and over again that his ribs were definitely bruised, and maybe even broken, that he had been beaten.

_And unable to protect Betty._

And Richie screamed, waves of agony ripping from his lungs. The water in front of him went everywhere, and the sonic waves rippled across the surface until they quickly died out again. Birds screeched, flying everywhere, the only purpose to get away from _him_. To avoid dying as well.

Richie sobbed, pain suddenly all too present in his throat. He sobbed, suddenly feeling so lost. He sobbed, and he felt something touch his arm, before a tiny figure wiggled his way between him, settling against his chest.

“I’m here Chee, I’m not leaving you.” Georgie whispers, putting a hand on his chest. It was a silent invitation, to ask if it was okay to use his powers. Richie didn’t have the energy to sob again, silent tears streaming down his face, and he wrapped his arms around Georgie, squeezing him close.

And that’s when he felt the familiar pushing against his mind, slowly nibbling at his anger, at his sadness, the loss he felt, and replacing the emptiness with love. It wasn’t happiness like Georgie usually did. He hated being forced to spread hate, spread sadness, and he never did when the scientists didn’t force him to.

“I’m not going away, big brother.” Georgie whispers, and Richie could even feel the cracks in his heart fill up by Georgie’s powers.

*

*

*

“You guys are trying too hard y’know? She’ll do you.” Henry spoke, glancing at the losers. Bev tensed besides them, hands squeezing around her own arms. “You just have to ask nicely, like I did.” Bev felt like throwing up, and she felt her hands heat up around her arms, almost uncomfortably so.

Then Ben screamed, picking up a stone and throwing it. For a moment they were all silent, Henry staring at them with wide eyes, and Stan dropped his arm to his side, hiding it behind his back. He felt the energy pull, and he felt the stone lift off the ground until it rested in his hand, almost too heavy.

_“Don’t-”_ Bill started in their heads, and Stan could feel him just poking around in his and Eddie’s heads. Bev didn’t seem to hear it, picking up a stone and throwing it without a second thought. _“.. throw it.”_

_“It’s a little late for that.”_ Stan comments before throwing his own stone.

“Fucking Losers!” Henry raged, and Stan dropped his arms, levitating two stones upwards, careful not to let anyone see it.

“Shut up!” Ben shouted, throwing another rock. And then it was a mess, everyone throwing rocks at each other at incredibly speed. Eddie reached down as well, throwing every rock he could find. Wind whirled around him and he threw, allowing the wind to carry the stone harder than before.

The stone hit Henry in the face, causing him to tumble down hard. The older bully crashed to the ground, blood leaking out of his face. Belch picked up another stone, and Eddie felt like the world slowed down as he saw the rock hurling right at his face. Eddie’s eyes widened, unable to move.

The stone hit him in the face, straight on, and he cried out, falling backwards.

_But the pain never came_.

Eddie trembled as he lay there, hearing shouts of the bullies to get the hell out of here. He felt hands on his shoulders, before the familiar poking in his mind.

_“Eddie we have to go.”_ Bill’s voice said in his head, and Eddie knew that it was Bill holding him, helping him up. His thoughts jumbled, and he couldn’t seem to make sense of anything as he stumbled after the rest of the Losers as they walked away, and the pain of the rock hitting his face still didn’t hit.

He didn’t fully register anything before he was sat down on a stone near the quarry.

_“Are you okay?”_ He heard in his head, and Eddie looks up, seeing the rest of the Losers stare at him with wide, worried eyes.

“Speak up Bill.” Eddie murmured, and Bill chuckled softly at the response from Eddie. “What the hell was that?” Eddie continues, rubbing his face. There was a slight pain, almost like a bruise or like something soft had hit him. Not like reality.. where a hard rock had hit him straight in the face.

A rock that should’ve broken his nose.. could’ve scrambled all the bones in his face.. _should_ have made him bleed. But here he was.

“That was me.” The new kid spoke up, and Eddie eyes at him. And now, when all the excitement was gone, he could feel a similar buzzing coming from the new kid, which could only mean one thing, _Mike was one of them_.

“What did you do?” Stan asks, eyeing at him.

“I can-” He starts, looking down for a moment. “I have this shield around me, which protects me. I can transfer it temporarily to protect someone else.. so I did.” He says, shrugging slightly. Eddie huffs slightly, a small smile on his face.

“Thanks for that.” He says, rubbing his face and wincing slightly.

“It doesn’t make you invulnerable though, I’m sorry.” Mike adds, which would explain his aching face. Eddie shrugs.

“I’m just glad to have my bones in one piece, my mom would kill me and never let me out of the house again.” Eddie complains.

“So he doesn’t know about you..” Mike trails off, and Eddie scoffs.

“Fuck no, she would never let me leave again if she knew I was weird.” Eddie says, and Bill frowns.

“Not weird,” He says with a disapproving gaze. “Just d-different.” And Eddie can’t help but smile, sending Bill a grateful look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter the Losers will meet Richie!
> 
> So list of powers:
> 
> Richie: Sound manipulation  
> Eddie: Wind powers  
> Bill: Mental communication.  
> Stan: Levitation  
> Beverly: Fire power  
> Ben: Unknown  
> Mike: Shield  
> Georgie: Manipulate emotions.
> 
> (I'm also on Tumblr under the same name if anyone wants to talk :D)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: flashback to child abuse (I’ll summarise in the end, skip italic part if this is a touchy subject for you)

Richie could feel Georgie’s eyes on him, but he ignored it, continuing to walk forwards. They were almost there, he had seen signs a while ago. He didn’t really know how long it had been, his mind was starting to fog over from the pain, and eventually it was like he was drifting out of his own body.

He was watching himself from above, watching him walk alongside Georgie.

12 miles to Derry, that’s what it had said on the traffic sign. Just 12 miles. They could make it if they just continued to walk today, make it to Derry before the day was over. So he tightened his hand around Georgie’s, as if it was a way for him to make sure Georgie was still truly there.

“Richie.” Georgie murmurs, but Richie ignores him, walking ahead. He couldn’t stop, he had to get Georgie back to Derry. It was Georgie’s idea to go back, because of course he wanted to go back, it wasn’t like he blamed Georgie for it. He had a family to get back to, a brother, his parents.

Richie didn’t have his parents to come back to, he didn’t have his sister to come back to.

“Richie please stop.” Georgie shouts again, and Richie finally whirls around.

“Wha-” He started, but he immediately doubled over, clutching his chest. He coughed harshly, feeling his fingers clutch at his chest. Waves of calmness washed over him, and he allowed himself to crash to the ground, sitting down until he could feel his breath evening out slowly but surely.

“I’m sorry Chee, but you were gone.. your emotions were almost gone.” Georgie whimpers, and Richie could see tears in his eyes. Richie’s face falls and he shakes his head.

“Not your fault.” Richie whispers, still feeling a bit out of breath.

“You’re bleeding again.” Georgie gasps suddenly, and Richie looks down at his side, seeing fresh blood leak out of the wound. Richie groans, and before he could stop him, Georgie was tugging at the fabric, trying to push it upwards. Richie spluttered, trying to push Georgie’s arms away from it.

“Georgie-” He warned but the smaller boy didn’t listen to him, exposing the wound before he could stop him. Georgie sobbed at the sight, eyes going wide. And Richie knew he couldn’t help it, but he felt waves of fear wash over him, Georgie’s powers getting the better of him all of a sudden.

“Chee.” Georgie whispers, but Richie gently takes Georgie hands and allowing the fabric of his shirt to cover the bullet wound again. The wound now swollen, red and throbbing and filled with pus from the infection. Richie had known it was infected, he saw it yesterday, on their third day out of the camps.

And this was exactly the reason why he didn’t want to tell Georgie.

“I’ll be fine pip squeak, we just have to get to your family.” Richie said softly. “You can help your mom patch me up, okay? I promise I’ll be fine.” Richie adds, and Georgie sobs, more tears streaming down his face.

“You’re scared.” He whimpers, and Richie’s face softens, reaching out to brush the tears away from Georgie’s face.

“I’m fine, I have you to protect me King George.” Richie says and Georgie chuckles despite the situation.

“Promise?” He whispers, and Richie smiles softly, rubbing away the last few tears.

_“Promise.” His mom said, and Richie could see his sister grin brightly. Richie could feel a slight pang through his chest, but he wasn’t stupid, he could see his parents liked his older sister better than him. He couldn’t blame them though, he knew he was annoying, no ability to sit still.. ever._

_“Thanks mom!” Willow smiles brightly. “Love you!” She shouts as she storms upstairs to get ready for the party her mom had just told her she could go to. She was older than him, and there was a significant age difference between them. Willlow was already in middle school, when he was still stuck in elementary school._

_“Can I also go play mom?” Richie asks, hopeful suddenly, his mother sighs instead, turning to him with a tired expression. And Richie knew the answer before she opened her mouth, he couldn’t. Of course she wouldn’t bring him anywhere, Richie was barely allowed to see his friends out of school._

_He liked his friends, even if he had so little._

_“I already told you no Richie, I don’t have time to-”_

_“Oh don’t bother Maggie, he’ll forgot what you said soon enough.” Wentworth muttered as he walked by, stopping to look down on Richie for a moment. Richie flinched at the gaze, taking a step back. But that was a mistake, and he stepped right into the coffee table. Everything seemed to slow down suddenly._

_He whirled around, seeing the vase, the one mom had inherited from her grandma and was worth a lot of money, toppled. There was a shout around him, but he could only stare with wide eyes as the vase fell off the table, crashing to the ground. He couldn’t move at all, as the vase broke on the ground._

_Then there was a silence.. a deafening silence._

_“What-” Wentworth hisses and Richie’s eyes widened. “.. did you do?!”_

_“I-I.. I didn’t mean to.” Richie stammered, and suddenly he felt like his friend, suddenly understood what it was like not being able to talk properly. And he hated it, hated that he couldn’t speak, even if he never cared about it when his friend did it._

_“Of course you didn’t mean to.” His father hisses, taking more steps forwards. Richie whimpered, but he was glued to the ground. “You absolute waste of space!” His father raged, grabbing his arm._

_“Daddy!” Richie cried out, trying to pull himself away but he wasn’t strong enough.. of course he wasn’t. His father’s face was filled with rage, and then he was scrambling backwards. He lost his footing, feeling himself crash into the coffee table again. His back landed on the edge and he tumbled off it._

_He cried out again, but this time in pain, as he landed on what was left of the vase. He could feel it digging into his skin, pain erupted everywhere._

_“Dad!” That wasn’t him, he knew that voice all too well. His eyes were wide, staring at his sister, who was staring back at him with an equally shocked expression. His sister knew that their parents didn’t like him... but she had never seen dad hurt him; had seen some bruises, had seen him crying, but never hurt._

_“Go upstairs Willow.” Wentworth growled, and Willow flinched, his dad had never been so cold with her._

_“Richie.” Willow whispered, taking a step towards him. Richie couldn’t seem to move, staring at Willow with tears leaking from his eyes._

_“I said-” Wentworth growled, stalking over to Willow. “Get out.” He grabbed her arm, hard enough for it to bruise, Richie knew how much that could hurt._

_“Willow.” He whimpered, scrambling to his feet. He felt his body shake, something brewing inside of him._

_“No dad,” Willow shook her head, trying to pry off his arm. “You hurt my little brother.” This time Willow managed to get free, running over to Richie, or at least she tried. She only got halfway before dad grabbed her arm again, spinning her around roughly. And then Richie could feel time freezing._

_He saw Willow’s eyes widen in fear, dad’s arm lifting, fist closing, it made contact with Willow’s cheek. And he screamed._

_Everything around him seemed to explode, that’s what it felt like. Red rings erupted from his mouth, tiny, not bigger than his head. The sound was almost painful, screeching through the living room and traveling straight at his dad, and he was hit, flying back a few steps and landing on the ground._

_“Went!” Maggie screamed, running up to her husband with wide eyes. Blood trickled down his dad’s face, but he was staring at him, face filled with overwhelming fear. Richie chokes at the gaze, stumbling backwards. What had he done? He hurt his dad, he did that, he hurt-_

_“Richie.” Willow was the first one to move, running towards him and wrapping her arms around him, shielding him from their parents. Maggie’s eyes were blazing, but there was a lot of fear in there as well, fear for him._

_“Go.” Maggie hisses. “Upstairs, now!” Maggie screamed, and the Tozier siblings didn’t need to be told twice, scrambling towards the door._

_They ended up on Willow’s bed, Richie cradled close to her chest. He just cried softly, and Willow rocked him back and forth, trying to comfort him._

_“I hurt daddy.. I hurt him.” Richie cried, but Willow shook his head, holding him closer._

_“He deserved it.” She whispers, ignoring the pain blossoming in her own cheek. It was tingling, like all bruises and wounds would stung. But the wound was never intentionally caused by her dad, this was something she wasn’t used to._

_“I don’t understand Willow...” He whimpered._

_“Me neither chee chee.” She murmured, which only caused Richie to cry harder. They stayed like that for hours, both too afraid to go back gain. They were both hungry, but they pushed it down. There were sounds downstairs, yelling, screaming, until eventually, a soft knock on the door._

_Richie was half asleep at that point, but too distressed to fall asleep at the same time. Then… a scream echoed through the living room, it was their mom._

_“What the f-” Willow cursed, scrambling off the bed. She ran for the door, but she could hear footsteps walking up the stairs. She scrambled back, grabbing Richie and hiding him behind her._

_“What’s happening?” Richie whimpered, but Willow shushed him, turning away from him, face to the door. Within seconds the door opened, and 3 agents barged into the room, all with their guns trained on them immediately._

_“Hand over the boy, now.” One ordered, narrowing his eyes but Willow shook her head._

_“Over my dead body.” She sneered, forcing Richie behind her back, thoughts racing. Maybe they could… A silent shot rang through the room. Richie didn’t understand why it didn’t make any sound, it always did in movies, a loud bang, but it was as if someone had shot some air at them, that’s what it sounded like._

_Willow’s body jerked, stumbling back and hands flying to her stomach. Her eyes widened, landing on Richie for a second before she fell to the ground. Her stomach was filling with blood, coating her hands._

_“WILLOW!” Richie screamed, but the agents ran forwards, grabbing his arms. “NO WILLOW!” He screamed as he was dragged backwards, away from his sister’s dying body. And the last thing he saw were her terrified eyes on him, before he was dragged downstairs, towards the living room._

_“Is this the boy?” Someone asked, and he was pushed to the ground, hands forced behind him. He looked forwards, eyes wide as he looked at his parents, almost as if they could do something._

_“Y-yes.” Maggie choked, also held down by an agent._

_“Take him.” One of the agents said, and he could feel something wrap around his wrists, before something snapped around his neck as well. He cried out, and he felt like he was gonna be sick. He felt empty suddenly, as if someone had taken away his balance, cut off his arms._

_“Let’s go, leave no witnesses behind.” Richie was hauled to his feet, and then two more guns went off, bullets burying themselves in his parents’ heads. Richie screamed, and then electricity coursed through his body, and his mouth snapped shut. He was dragged away, out of his house, into a car._

_He scrambled upwards, big desperate eyes looking at his house,_

_and then his house went up in flames._

“You can stay with us, Chee, I promise.” Georgie says, and Richie can only cry louder at that. He never told Georgie couldn’t call him Chee, he loved it when he did, but it was painful all the same, painful because it was too close to the nickname Willow had given him back when she was still alive.

“Thank you Georgie.” Richie whispered, and for the next few minutes, Richie could do nothing but cry.

*

*

*

“This is so unsanitary.” Eddie scowls, flicking his wrist to blow all the dust from the ground.

“Because that is making it better.” Stan deadpans, coughing as the dust whirls into his face. Eddie sends him a glare, ignoring the boy as they walked further into the house.

“What even is this place?” Ben asks, frowning as he looks around the house. There was barely any light in the house, windows bolted shut and barely holding up in the first place. Ben grimaces, glancing at Bill instead. Bill had quickly stepped up as the unofficial leader of the group.

But right now, standing in that filthy house, they were kind regretting that decision.

“Well house.” Bill says, not really paying attention to the rest of the ground. He looks around, walking further into the home. “Perfect.” He smirks at the open space in front of him, turning around to see the rest of the Losers walk into the huge room as well.

“Holiday home?” Bev snorts, walking over to the chimney and drawing at her power to light it up.

“No.” Eddie frowns, shivering slightly. “Hobos and junkies used to sleep here.”

“Used to?” Bev asks, and Eddie shrugs.

“Might still be.” He bites back, turning his face to Bill.

“Nobody is here, I can’t feel anyone.” Bill assures them, and Eddie can feel a gentle pull on his mind, knowing that Bill was using his powers to scout the house. It was another perk of the powers, and one that took him a long time to master as well. But they trusted Bill on this, and Stan could feel himself relax a little more.

“So what are we doing here?” Mike asks, nudging one of the couches with a grimace on his face.

“What could we possibly be doing in an abandoned building as supers?” Stan supplies sarcastically.

“You were serious about helping me out with my powers?” Ben’s eyes widened, disbelief written on his face. Bill chuckles at that, pushing his mind outwards and linking them all together. He could feel himself straining a bit more, his head spinning just ever so slightly, he had never linked up so many people at once.

 _“Of course Ben, we Losers have to stick together.”_ Bill explains, and Ben eyes him warily.

 _“Losers?”_ He asks, and Stan scoffs.

 _“That was Eddie’s idea. Calling ourselves Supers would be way too obvious.”_ The curly haired boy shrugs, and Eddie sent a gush of wind towards him.

 _“People were already calling us Losers, it was easier that way.”_ Eddie defends himself, but Ben shakes his head with an amused smile.

 _“I agree, I like it actually.”_ Ben says, causing Eddie to smile gratefully. Beverly and Mike nod as well, and Bev walks back to the group _._

_“So... how are we doing this?”_

Turns out, neither of the losers had a good plan for their powers either. It was hard to teach each other, neither of them had the same powers, and neither of them had any proper training either. Everything they could do, everything they were trained to do was essentially just doing _something_.

It worked out in the end, but it was a lot of trial and error for all of them. And they still couldn’t use their powers as well as they’d liked.

Of course they had no idea how strong they _could_ be, and they were still learning.

Bev could control her powers well, but she wasn’t _strong_ per se, and Bill was sure she could do a lot more with her powers with training, which was of course the big problem. She could create fire, not just sparks but fireballs that fit inside of her hands. But they were just that, small, and while still dangerous, not too dangerous.

“Shit!” Bev cursed, shaking her hand rapidly. “Okay that was a stupid idea.” She murmurs, and Ben frowns, hurrying over to her and grabbing her hand.

“We have to cool it.” He says, and Bev looks over at him with an amused expression.

“With what water genius?” She chuckles, but there was no malice in her voice, just amusement at Ben’s worry. It was endearing to have someone so concerned for her wellbeing.

“At least we now know you can be hurt by your own fire.” Stan deadpans, and Bev sends him a cheeky smile.

“Never hurts to know for sure Stan.” She replies, shaking her head a couple more times before straightening up again. The skin wasn’t even blistering, just turning a little bit red. “It’s not bad, I’ll be fine.” She brushes Ben off, and he takes a reluctant step back.

 _“I’m sorry._ ” Bev could hear in her mind, and she could feel it was just Bill right now. He was looking at her, guilt all too evident. She shook her head.

 _“I agreed to it, you didn’t make me, so don’t worry about it.”_ She brushed him off, turning back to the rest of the group. “Okay who’s next?”

For the next hour they studied Bev’s and Mike’s powers, seeing what they could also do and then trying to push beyond that. Beverly would be throwing fire at Mike, to see how much the shield really worked. The effect was pretty much the same as when Eddie’s face got hit by the stone yesterday.

It was a second skin, thickening it, but not making it invulnerable. Mike could still feel the heat. The smaller attacks didn’t exactly hurt, but he could still feel it.

“Try shielding Stan instead.” Eddie suggested, and Mike nodded with determination, forcing the shield around himself to transfer to Stan instead. “Now throw another one.” Eddie says, looking at Bev. The red haired girl quickly complied, forming another fire ball, but smaller this time and throwing it at Stan.

The curly haired boy winces but eventually blinks, looking up. Then, he shrugs.

“Doesn’t hurt.” He says, glancing back at Mike. He was still looking at him with a look of concentration, obvious that he was making effort to keep the shield around Stan. “Can you hurt Mike?” He asks, and Mike sputters at the suggestion.

“Yes she can, I’m just like you without my shield.” Mike says, and Bev forms another fireball.

“So you protecting someone else makes you vulnerable?” She asks, lazily playing with the ball of fire.

“That sucks.” Eddie says, but Mike shrugs slightly.

“Could’ve gotten in handy when I was younger.” Mike muttered, and a sudden silence spread across the room. Stan winced visibly as the shield was suddenly pulled away from him, slamming back over Mike. He stumbled a bit, but he didn’t seem all too bothered by it, glancing at the rest of the Losers.

“W-What happened?” Bill asks with a slight frown, sitting down on the edge of the couch. Mikey sighs, a solemn expression on his face.

“My parents...- you remember the fire?” He asks, and understanding immediately dawns down on the rest of the Losers, because of course they did, of course they knew what happened. The whole town did, they just hadn’t consciously made the connection before he mentioned it to them.

Bev closes her hand, and Eddie gazes at the floor.

“If I could’ve controlled my powers back then.. maybe I could’ve saved them y’know? The doctors always wondered how I survived, I survived because of my powers, and I could’ve used that to-” He trails off, balling his hands into fists. HIs arm was shaking next to his form, and he sighs. “It’s stupid.” He mutters.

For moment there was another silence, and then Eddie shakes his head.

“It’s not bullshit, we get it dude.” He says, and Ben nods.

“I’m pretty sure that’s survivor’s guilt, I read about it once.” Ben supplies, and Bill wants to say something, but he snaps his mouth shut the moment he opens it. His head whirls around, feeling thoughts.. minds… people approaching rapidly, and being too close already before he had noticed it.

He had been distracted by the conversation, and it could potentially cost them. He immediately pushed his mind outwards, linking them all up.

 _“People are coming!”_ He could barely yell before someone entered the room. They were all immediately up, eyes going wide with fear. But Bill could feel his stomach turn violently at the face in front of him, a face that he was so painfully familiar with.

“Don’t be stupid.” The woman spoke, holding her hands up. Bev growled, but didn’t back down, fire blazing in her hands. Mike had subconsciously pushed his way to the front of the group, and the rest of them were all standing there behind him, all except Bill, who was glaring at the woman.

His mind was whirling, reaching out to find out exactly where the other people were, he could sense at least 5 others, not in sight, but still so close.

 _“I trusted you.”_ Bill whispers, and Becky winces at the voice. Bill had cut off everyone else, only sharing his thoughts with the woman he thought was just his speech therapist. _“Are you even a real therapist?”_

 _“It’s not what you think Bill.”_ Becky shoots back, and Stan watches him with a wary expression, the boy no doubt having figured out what was going on right now.

 _“Just tell me.”_ Bill growled lowly, and Becky sighs, before shaking her head.

“What the fuck do you want lady?” Eddie breaks the silence eventually, and Becky glances at the smaller boy.

 _“She lied to me, I thought she was my speech therapist but..”_ Bill quickly severs the connection with Becky, linking himself up with the Losers instead. _“I can feel more minds, they’re here to take us.”_

 _“What are you saying?”_ Eddie swallows thickly.

 _“I’m saying we have to run before she notices we know._ ” Bill spews.

“Bill don’t do that, just come with me quietly.” Becky says, apparently able to guess exactly what they were saying. Bill sends her a glare.

“Like hell we will.” Bev growled, and then the ball of fire in her hands seemed to explode in size, and she threw it with fury. Becky cried out in surprise, and Eddie didn’t hesitate, throwing a gush of wind towards her as well. Dust flew everywhere, pushing the flames everywhere, and causing a moment of confusion.

 _“Run!”_ Bev cried in their heads, and neither of them needed to be told twice, whirling around and bolting.

“Stop right there!” Someone shouted as they ran around a corner, coming to a quick stop. Two guards were standing there, pointing guns at them. Eddie’s eyes widened in fear, but Stan acted before he could, throwing his hands together to rip two stones off the ground, hitting the guards.

They cried out in surprise, and Eddie took advantage of that, blowing them off their feet with his powers.

 _“Quickly!”_ Mike shouted inwards, and they took off again, sprinting out of the home.

“Bill please stop!” Becky shouted back, and Bill whirled around despite his better judgement, staring at Becky, who was staring right back at him from the entrance at the home. Her left arm was synched, shirt burned away, but Bill stared with wide eyes as the skin visibly started to heal, leaving just scars behind.

“Holy shit, she’s like us.” Eddie’s eyes widen besides him, but Bill couldn’t react, ignoring Bev tugging at his arm, force him to move.

 _“I trusted you._ ” Bill spit back, and Becky winced.

 _“I’m sorry Bill but-”_ She couldn’t finish that sentence, as Bev yelled in anger, letting out a string of fire. Becky shouted in surprise, staring wide eyed at all of them, but especially at Beverly, a look of realisation washing over her.

“Bill we have to go, now!” Bev shouted, because they all knew that it was just a matter of time before she’d recover, and nobody knew what Becky could do as well. So Bill allowed Bev to pull him away, and the Losers are sprinted away from the house, and leaving the agents behind.

They sprinted, not stopping until they reached the quarry, where they collapsed, all heaving and panting heavily.

“What the.. fuck.. was that?” Eddie struggled, reaching for his inhaler.

“How did she know?” Stan asks, staring at Bill. The undecided leader of the group was staring at them with tears in his eyes, betrayal stinging.

“She s-s-sensed me.” He supplies, but Stan shakes his head.

“We didn’t sense her.” Stan explains, and Bill frowns at that. “We couldn’t feel she was a Super- how didn’t we sense her?” Stan’s voice was rising slightly from the panic.

“I-I.. I d-don’t know.” Bill stammered, tears jumping in his eyes.

“Okay hold your tits everyone.” Bev snapped, standing between the two. “This isn’t Bill’s fault, but we need to figure out what happens now.” She frowns.

“Bev’s right, we’re so fucking screwed if the Government knows about us, we need to do something.” Eddie was shaking slightly, still a bit out of breath and clutching the inhaler as if it worked that way.

“Like what?” Stan retorts. “ _If_ it’s the government, we’re doomed anyways, we can’t fight the government.”

“ _If_ it’s the government?” Ben asks with a frown, and Stan glances at him. Stan shrugs.

“It’s obvious they’re not, Ben. There were just 5 of them, and why wait until we were all together? They could’ve just taken us at our homes, but they didn’t.”

“So w-what are they?” Bill asks, glancing at Stan, but he shakes his head.

“I don’t know Bill, I don’t have all the answers.” He says. “My guess is that the government doesn’t know about Supers, and they plan to keep it that way.”

“So what, they’re like a secret lab?” Eddie scoffs, but Stan just looks at him, with a look that told Eddie enough, _it might be_. “Fuck.” Eddie curses, running a nervous hand through his hair.

“So basically an evil laboratory is after us?” Mike mumbles, and Bev groans.

“Just great.” She spits out. “I’m going to check if we weren’t followed, I can’t just stand here and do nothing.” Bev continues, turning around and walking back into the forest again.

“She’s right, we need a plan.” Ben frowns, but none of the Losers disagreed with Ben or Beverly, they all knew that they had to come up with something.

“What _can_ we do?” Mike offers, and Stan eyes at him.

“We can leave, that’s what we can do.” He says, and Eddie’s eyes widen at the suggestion. “We can’t just stay here either.”

“But what about our family?” Ben adds in, and Eddie nods frantically.

“Yeah my mom doesn’t know about me, and I can’t just tell her, but I don’t think I can leave her either. She’s still my mom.” Eddie rambles, and Bill and Stan’s faces fall a bit at the sentence. They were all aware of Eddie’s mom, how overbearing and protective she could be of Eddie.

He hadn’t told her about his powers, but that didn’t surprise them as Bill’s parents were the only one to know as well. But they knew how complicated Eddie’s relationship was. He loved his mom, even if she was abusing her son. Stan and Bill wouldn’t allow Eddie to think any otherwise, because it was, it was abuse.

And they weren’t allowing Eddie to think this behaviour was normal.

Bill was about to open his mouth to say something else when a yell was heard. All the Losers whipped their heads around to the sounds, where Bev had walked towards. It was a young voice, they could all hear that. They looked at each other for just a second before bolting, running towards the sound.

“Shit shit shit.” They could hear Bev curse. “I’m sorry kid, I’m not going to hurt you okay?” Bill was just was enough to see Bev extinguish the fire from her hands, putting them up as a sign of defeat.

“Get the fuck away from him.” A breathless voice seethed, and the Losers all reached Beverly, staring at the two figures in front of them. Bill’s eyes widened painfully, and he could feel his stomach turn. He instantly recognised the little boy, and Eddie and Stan did too, eyes widening in the same way as Bill’s.

It was Georgie... there was no doubt.

He was wearing a thin shirt and thin pants, and his left arm was littered with healing burn marks. His face was dirty, and he looked thin, but he was _alive_ , he was healthy and standing in front of them with wide terrified eyes on Beverly, before they travelled to Bill’s face, tearing up instantly.

But he wasn’t alone, a figure pushing him behind him, shielding Georgie from the rest of the Losers. He looked bad, that’s the only way Bill could describe him in that moment. He was shaking on his feet, dried blood soaking his shirt, and bruises poking out of his shirt and littering his face.

There was no extra fat on him, and Bill was sure he would be able to count his ribs if he hadn’t been wearing the loose shirt, the same as Georgie was wearing but then bigger. And he looked sick, his face was ghostly white, and his eyes unfocused yet filled with fear, fear he tried to hide with anger.

“G-G-Georgie.” Bill spluttered, and the boy in front of him growled lowly, shifting to shield Georgie from Bill’s view, eyes now focused on him. Georgie whimpered, and Bill instantly took a step forwards, to get to his little brother.

The older boy tensed, and Bill could see his mistake immediately. The boy inhaled sharply, and he seemed to be shaking at that simple task, shuddering in pain. A red circle seemed to blow up around him, and Bill’s eyes widened at the realisation, this person was a Super.. like them.

And then the boy screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you they’d meet this chapter…. whoops. Ehm… since Christmas is coming up, how would y’all feel about an extra chapter then? To make up for the Cliffhanger :3
> 
> As for those skipping for the TW: Wentworth hurts Richie, his big sister Willow tries to intervene but gets hurt instead, Richie attacks his dad with his powers that he just discovered. His parents call the cops, but the lab shows up, kills Willow and parents and takes Richie.


	4. Chapter 4

“Holy sh-” Eddie screamed, barely managing to dive out of the way. Shockwaves thundered through the air, grass and leaves flying everywhere. Mike jumped in front of Ben, throwing up his arms to shield himself out of instinct, but he knew it wouldn’t make a difference. The rings collided with him, and he was thrown backwards.

His back his the tree behind him, tumbling against Ben as he did. Bev’s eyes widen, and she readied another fireball, throwing it at the boy. Fire surged through the air, but the boy sucked in a breath, firing it at the balls to stop them. They exploded, fire reaching in every direction at collision.

He sucked in another breath, sending them towards her.

Bev’s eyes widened, throwing up her hands and blasting fire towards the attack but it didn’t help. Stan pulled at a loose branch, throwing it in front of the red ring, and it obliterated. Bev scowls, readying another attack, but Bill was too quick for her, jumping forwards and forcing his mind to push outwards.

He felt himself tugging at the boy’s mind, and the boy flinched at the intrusion.

People could feel it, and most didn’t even recognise it as him linking their minds up if they didn’t know about Supers, but this boy obviously did.

The boy shouted in surprise, staggering a bit before sucking in more air. The ring around him burst into energy again before a low frequency escaped the boy’s mouth. Bill could only widen his eyes as it struck him, and his head seemed to explode with sound, as if something was shrieking inside his ear.

He screamed, slapping his hands over his ears and falling to the ground, but it only lasted seconds.

“Richie stop!” Georgie screeched behind the boy, and suddenly Georgie was between Bill and him, pushing two hands against Richie’s chest, but looking back at Bill with wide eyes. “That’s Bill.” Bill could barely hear the sentence, his ears still ringing painfully, but he could hear it, it was Georgie.

“He was attacking.” Richie wheezed, but his voice was soft, as if his lungs didn’t allow him to squeeze past any sound. Bev runs over to Bill, helping him up. Richie was still glaring at them, trying to pull Georgie behind him again but he was obviously too weak to do so, limbs trembling greatly.

“He wasn’t!” Georgie shouted in frustration, and Bill’s eyes widen when he felt the familiar tug of Georgie’s powers. He recognised it, and he could feel a calmness wash over him, but at the same time panic was shouting at him, pulling at his skin. Georgie had always been able to control his powers,

But never this far away, not to so many people.

He had always needed to touch someone in the beginning, and in the last month they had finally seemed to figure out how to alter someone’s emotions from a small distance. But just one person, and less than a feet apart. And right now they were a good 30 feet away from each other.

Bill was about to open his mouth, feeling too drained from the attack to link up 8 people at the same time, but then Richie swayed dangerously. Georgie’s eyes widened in panic, and before any of the could react, Richie crumbled to the ground, legs folding painfully beneath him.

“Chee!” Georgie screamed and that’s when Bill moved, sprinting over to his little brother. He immediately collapsed besides Georgie, but for once, his little brother didn’t pay attention to him, shaking Richie’s shoulders desperately. “Chee wake up!”

Bill pushed his mind outwards. _“Georgie please calm down.”_ He says, and Georgie looks at him with wide terrified eyes, tears leaking from his eyes. 

_“You have to help him Bill, please.”_ Bill nods, brushing past Georgie and putting his fingers on Richie’s throat, waiting for a few seconds.

_“He’s alive Georgie, he’s just unconscious.”_ Bill tries to assure his little brother, wanting nothing more than to hug him right now, but he shook his head.

_“He’s hurt badly, he was shot and now his wound is all warm.”_ Georgie whimpers, and tears were now cascading down his cheeks. Bill frowns, glancing at Eddie, who had come to sit on the other side of the unconscious boy.

_“Check his side.”_ Bill orders, pushing his mind to include Eddie as well. Bill could feel the other Losers stand closer, but he couldn’t.. couldn’t link them all up right now. He could already feel himself straining with 2 people. Eddie complies, lifting Richie’s shirt up, and that’s when Bill understood Georgie’s panic, and his eyes widened.

“Holy shit.” Eddie curses, glancing between Georgie and Bill. “We need him to get him to your mom, this is bad.” They all knew the hospital was out of the question, they couldn’t risk anyone finding out about them, and taking Richie would only endanger their secret, including his. So they had no choice but to take him to Bill’s mom.

Georgie refuses to leave Richie’s side, even to hug his brother. Bill knew he shouldn’t be too upset about it, it was clear Richie and Georgie formed a strong bond, and they had obviously gone through hell together, but all Bill wanted to do is hug his little brother, because he was _alive._

And in turn, Bill refuses to leave Georgie behind, watching warily as Mike hosted up Richie on his back. The boy let’s out a whimper of pain, face scrunching up. Georgie reaches out for Richie’s hand, squeezing it and not letting go, walking alongside Mike. He kept glancing at Bill, and Bill could understand him without having to read his mind. Georgie couldn’t get himself to focus on both him and Richie at the same time.

Stan eyes at him as they continue to walk, and it was clear what Stan wanted him to do, so he quickly linked them both up.

_“Are you okay?”_ He asks softly, and Bill frowns, looking at the ground. Eddie and Bev had ran ahead of the group to get to Bill’s house and warn his mom, so she could set up everything she needed and so she was prepared for the shock of seeing George again… alive. Because right now, the mysterious boy was their priority, he needed medical attention like yesterday.

_“What kind of question is that?”_ Bill mutters back, glancing at Georgie instead. He could only see the back of his head, his hair dirty and tangled.

_“A question out of concern. Don’t shut us out again, not now.”_ Stan shoots back and Bill sighs.

_“I know Stan but I just… how can I just be calm when he’s right there?”_ Bill gestures wildly. _“Where the hell has he been, and how does he know Richie?”_

_“Maybe they were taken by those people from the Well house?”_ Stan asks, and Bill looks at him in disbelief. _“Think about it Bill, it can’t be a coincidence that those agents showed up the day we find Georgie.”_ Stan adds, and Bill could feel his stomach churn with anger.

_“So you’re saying they’re spies? You think Georgie works with them?”_ Bill spats, and Stan sighs, shaking his head.

_“I’m not saying that Bill, I’m just saying that we might want to be careful. That it can’t be a coincidence. Georgie’s appearance from wherever he was is surely connected to those agents.”_ Stan explains, and Billy visibly calms down, anger depleting, but that just made way for worry instead.

_“And Richie?”_

_“Has obviously gone through hell, so wherever he came from… it wasn’t a nice place.”_ Stam purses his lips slightly, glancing at Mike, and the boy he was carrying. Richie was on Mikes back, probably eyes still closed. But Stan has seen his eyes when Richie has attacked them, they were fearful, and tortured.

But the boy had also seemed familiar in a way, and he couldn't quite place what was so familiar about him.

_“Should we trust him?”_ Bill asks him and Stan keeps his gaze on Richie’s back.

_“He cares for Georgie.”_ Was all Stan said, and a silence fell over them. They continued to walk, and the few minutes felt like hours, but they eventually approached Bill’s home, and his mom was already anxiously standing outside. Her eyes immediately landed on Georgie, widening in almost disbelief. But it seemed as if Eddie and Bev had talked to her, cause they almost immediately switched to the boy on Mike’s back.

“Get him inside, quickly.” His mom ordered, ushering them all inside. “Upstairs.” She adds, hurrying after Mike. Bill wasn’t surprised to see them all in his room, including his dad, and he rushes forwards to help Richie off Mike’s back and onto the bed. Richie whimpers, but didn’t wake up. His mom grabbed a pair of scissors, easily cutting away the shirt Richie was wearing.

Georgie sobs at the sight, taking a trembling step back. Richie’s entire stomach and chest area was covered with deep and ugly blotches of black and blue, and his side was swollen and leaking with pus. And Bill was right, he could count the boy’s ribs, and he could instantly see that he wasn’t just skinny, he was _malnourished._

Scars seemed to litter his chest, some old, and some fresh, but there were so many… too many.

“I need everyone but Eddie and Zack to get outside.” His mom ordered immediately, and Georgie was about to protest, but Stan put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Come on.” He muttered, gently pulling Georgie out of the room. Surprisingly, Georgie allowed Stan to take him away, and Bill quickly followed him, the rest of the Losers leaving as well. He was vaguely aware of Mike closing the door but he couldn’t get himself to focus on that, he could only look at Georgie.

“Richie.” Georgie sobbed, and that was all it took for him to break down, running at Bill and wrapping his tiny arms around his big brother for the first time in 2 months.

_“I got you Georgie.”_ Bill murmured in his head, sinking to the ground. Georgie only cried harder, burying his face in Bill’s chest.

*

*

*

“I m-missed you s-so much.” Bill murmured. The smaller boy was sitting next to him, close to his side and wearing a fresh set of clothes. His hair was still damp from the shower, and Bill was gently carting his fingers through it.

“I missed you too, big brother.” Georgie whispers, and Bill shifts slightly, glancing down at his little brother. There was a white bandage wrapped around his left arm, hiding the already healing burn marks. There were also a lot of small cuts and bruises littering his body, but they were just that.. small.

But that didn’t make them any easier to see.

_“What happened?”_ Bill pushes his mind open, and Georgie stiffens slightly, but not at the mental intrusion, but rather, at the question.

_“The bad men caught me.”_ Georgie whispers, and Bill swallows thickly, shifting to get a better look at his little brother.

It had been too long since he had been able to do that, 2 months, 1 week and 4 days. Bill had counted, couldn’t get himself to _not_ count. He only forgot twice, which made him so guilty that he had vomited on the street. Just the thought that he couldn’t remember how long it had been.

_“Will you tell me?”_ Bill asks softly and Georgie makes a weird noise, one that showed him that he probably _didn’t. “You don’t have to right now, but I’m here.”_ Bill adds softly, glancing up around the room for a moment. The rest of the Losers were still in the same living room, except Eddie, who was helping his mom.

Beverly was helping with Mike’s wounds, which really consisted of nothing more than a knot on the back of his head. But that didn’t mean Mike didn’t appreciate the ice nevertheless. Stan in the meantime was making sure everyone had something to drink and had already put on some food.

It was already way past dinner time, and they were starting to become hungry as well.

Ben was helping Stan, too restless to just sit still either. The rest of the Losers were just quiet, for once not having anything to say. Georgie’s drink was already forgotten on the table in front of him, and Bill hadn’t even touched his yet, too focused on Georgie. He didn’t feel like speaking up.

Not just because of his stutter but because it was a moment between him and Georgie. And he knew the rest of the Losers understood that, so he stayed silent and linked his brother up, only leaving the two of them.

_“I couldn’t keep up with her,”_ Georgie whispers in his head, and Bill knew exactly who _her_ was, the boat he had made for Georgie on that fateful day. _“It went down the drain and then something hit my head. I … I woke up in a cage somewhere.”_ Georgie hesitates, biting his lip, stopping himself.

Bill could feel a wave of sadness wash over him, and Georgie visibly flinched. Immediately he could feel the sadness stop, and Georgie glancing at him with wide eyes.

_“That power is new.”_ Bill says instead, trying to distract Georgie. But it only seemed to make things worse, and tears sprung into his eyes.

_“They trained me.”_ He whispers, tears started to cascade down cheeks. _“They hurt me Bill, they hurt all of us-”_ He tries to continue, but sobs tear from his throat, and the rest of the Losers to look up. Georgie sobbed, and all the Losers flinched as Georgie’s powers poked at them, waves of emotions emitting.

Tears jumped in Ben’s eyes, and he gasped at the sadness.. the pain he suddenly felt. And Bev brought a shaky hand to her mouth, wincing at the feeling. Georgie was shaking on the spot, desperately trying to pull his powers back in. Bill hesitated for a second, shaking from the sadness radiating from Georgie.

Bill reached out, pulling Georgie closer to him. Georgie clung to him, sobbing loudly. Bill could do nothing but hold him, comforting him as well as he could. It seemed to take hours until Georgie finally seemed to calm down, slumping against Bill’s side.

_“I’m sorry Bill,”_ Georgie whimpers in his head, but Bill shakes his head.

_“You have nothing to be sorry for.”_ Bill shoots back, and Georgie shifts against his side. Georgie sniffs, wiping at his tears, and slowly the waves of sadness was pulled away from him, and Georgie seemed to compose himself again.

_“They put this collar on me, it made my powers go away,”_ Georgie continues, and he seemed determined to finish his story. _“I don’t know what they did, they didn’t tell me, but it hurt Bill.. the next day they brought me to a room, Richie was my roommate.”_

_“Have you been with him this entire time?”_ Bill asks almost hesitantly, brows furrowed slightly. Georgie nods silently, only confirming Bill’s suspicions. It was clear now why Georgie had seen so close with Richie. They had spent over 2 months together, Georgie’s first and luckily only 2 months.

Richie had been there for the worst 2 months of Georgie’s life, the only form of comfort.

Bill was about to say something again, when his mom suddenly opened the door. Everyone whipped their heads around, staring at her. Georgie was the first one to react, jumping off the couch and running at her. His mom immediately crouched down, allowing Georgie to wrap his arms around her.

“Oh Georgie.” His mom cried softly, and his dad quickly joined as well, huddling close. Bill felt someone nudging him and he looks up to see Stan.

“Go.” He says softly, pushing him towards his family. He sends Stan a grateful smile, moving towards his family and joining the hug. They cried for what seemed like hours, until eventually Georgie asked if he could see Richie, and nobody had the heart to deny him that right now.

“He’s not in a good shape but he will be alright,” His mom says softly, pushing open the door. Georgie was the first one to walk inside, eyes immediately landing on Richie’s sleeping figure. Bill reaches out mentally for his mom, and she glances at him, already understanding what he was asking of her.

_“He has a pretty bad fever from the infection but we gave him antibiotics,”_ His mom starts softly. _“I don’t think he broke his ribs, just bruised, and you already saw the bruising on his stomach and chest. They’re bad, but they’ll heal in time.”_ She adds, and Bill watches as Georgie rushes over to Richie’s bed.

“Is he okay?” Georgie asks Eddie with wide eyes, climbing onto the bed without asking if it was alright. Eddie was wringing out the cool water from the cloth, placing it back on Richie’s forehead.

“It’s for his fever,” Eddie tries to assure the younger boy, someone he considered a younger brother. “Here, put your hand on his wrist.” He continues, reaching out carefully and guiding Georgie’s fingers to rest on Richie’s wrist. Georgie frowned for a moment, but then seconds later he felt it.

The beating beneath his fingers, telling him Richie was alive.

Georgie refused to leave Richie’s side, but so did Bill and his parents, so he eventually crawled into Bill’s lap instead. The Losers were all staying in Georgie’s room, not willing to leave right now either, both because of Georgie and Richie appearing and because of the agents that were still after them.

Georgie never took his eyes off Richie, until eventually he too fell asleep.

*

*

*

_“Please stop.. please… please.. don’t do this.. please.” He could hear himself plead, but it was almost as if the voice wasn’t his anymore. He jerked in their hold, trying to escape, but at the same time he didn’t try at all, knew there was no use in trying. They were stronger than him, and there were more._

_He pulled at his arm, and suddenly his vision seemed to explode. He cries out, legs crumbling underneath him as pain shot through his body. He cried, screamed.. and yet he couldn’t hear it. The guards didn’t seem to care, dragging him along the hallway when he couldn’t stand._

_“Please.” He gasps, but he knew it was futile. His thoughts fumbled, but the pain was gone. He tried to get his legs beneath him, but they shook, unwilling to support his weight. He sobbed unwillingly, but they didn’t listen, and he was thrown onto the cold ground, trying to scramble upwards._

_But before he could do so a boot landed in his stomach. All the air seemed to escape his lungs, and he collapsed to the ground, wheezing and coughing._

_“You just couldn’t mind your own fucking business huh?” Guard #3 spit at him, and Richie whimpered._

_“You were h-hurting her.” Richie cried, feeling tears leak from his eyes. But the guard didn’t seem interested in his excuse, kicking him again. Then two hands were pulling at his arms, putting them behind his back and locking them tightly. “N-No, please!” Richie cried, tugging at the restraints but it was no use._

_“You never fucking learn.” The guards says but he seemed to enjoy Richie’s panic, watching with a smug expression as the other guard approached him. Richie tried to scramble away, but his head was yanked back quickly, vision suddenly disappearing as the blindfold was tied around his eyes._

_“Please!” Richie cried again, but the only answer he got was a gag being shoved in his mouth and the headphones being slipped over his ears, and then everything went silent._

Richie jerked awake harshly, wincing immediately and curling into himself. _Just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare_. He tried to remind himself, limbs shaking violently. He tried to clear his throat, feeling the panic die down a little as the noise reached his ears, and he hastily blinked his eyes open.

He could _see_ , and the revelation almost made him sob in relief. He groans, bringing a hand up to his face and rubbing it carefully. He wasn’t _there_ anymore, his hands were free, he could hear, and he could talk, and he could see. He got out, he never had to go into that room again, and Georgie never had to see him like _that_ again.

He groans again, carefully sitting up, and wincing slightly as his wounds protested.

It had only happened this badly once when Georgie had been there, but it was enough to scar the boy greatly. Of course it had, Richie had never told him about the silence room as he liked to call it. Hoped he wouldn’t be taken there anymore, but of course that was incredibly naive of him to think, especially considering how many times he had been there.

But he just hoped he wouldn’t be there long enough to fuck him up like that.. but two days.. that would’ve taken a toll on anybody.

Richie shook his head violently at the memory.. not wanting to relive how Georgie had to help him clean up after he was finally dragged out of that room, how they didn’t even bother removing the blindfold and headphones, or the restraints. Georgie had to do that, had to hold him as he screamed and cried.

He was just lucky that his brain didn’t want him to remember the state he had been.

He had pushed the thought away of _why_ he had been wearing clean clothes, refusing to think about how he had spent 48 hours without going to the toilet.. or where those clothes had gone to when he had woken up. And Georgie… Georgie was obviously scared, but luckily never talked about it.

_Georgie_.

The thought suddenly clung to him, and he glances around warily. He _knew_ where he was, had been lucid for a few minutes when they were patching him up, just barely awake but too weak and too out of it to fight back or struggle, so he had just laid there, crying silently the whole time.

He carefully climbed out of bed, wincing as pain travelled through his body, but he ignored it. He was wearing clothes he didn’t recognise, a pair of loose sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He didn’t really pay attention to them, opening the door and carefully making his way through the hallway.

It was already light outside, so he must’ve been out for a long time. He winces at he goes down the stairs, but eventually he reaches the bottom, gazing into the living room, and a slight grin appears on his face.

“Well this is just fucking domestic.” Richie says, causing everyone to snap their heads up. Georgie’s eyes immediately lightened up, untangling himself from the hug Bill, his older brother, had given him and running over to him.

“Chee!” Georgie cried out, barely stopping himself from barrelling into Richie. The older boy smiled, wrapping his arms around him as he carefully hugged him. He stiffens a groan as his injuries were jostled, but Georgie was careful luckily.

“Morning King George.” Richie murmured, causing Georgie to snicker.

“It’s almost 3 pm.” Georgie shot back, but Richie shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter buddy, it’s morning when you just wake up,” Richie says, and Georgie smiles brightly again. “So introduce me, I know we kinda got off to a wrong start yesterday but y’know.” Richie shrugs, and Georgie seems to understand what he means, turning back to all the Losers.

They were still staring at him in awe, and only Eddie seemed to be able to snap out of it.

“Sit down.” He says.

“What?” Richie asks.

“I said sit down, you have to rest.” Eddie repeats, and Richie can feel the corners of his mouth pull upwards in a splitting grin.

“Aaww he cares.” Richie smiles, and Eddie can feel frustration rise.

“Your hair is sticking to your forehead from the sweat.” Eddie snaps back, but Richie brushes him off.

“Nothing to worry about cutie, got a little carried away with your mom last night.” Richie says, waggling his eyebrows, and Eddie’s face heated up, going red instantly.

“What the f-” Eddie started, but Richie didn’t listen, glancing down as Georgie pulled on his sleeve.

“How do you know Eddie’s mom?” He asks, and Richie snorts, shaking his head.

“It was a joke bud,” Richie says, allowing Georgie to guide him back to the couch. One of the boys, a curly haired one, made room for him, and Richie allowed himself to sit down. Relief washes over him, and his body seemed to relax as the pain dulls instantly. “Well my name’s Richie, and I can manipulate sound waves.”

He shrugs, glancing around the room. The rest of the Losers were still looking at him with eyes full of disbelief, a little caught off caught at the difference in personality. He had seen so cold yesterday, so willing to fight back and even kill without hesitation, everything to protect Georgie from them.

And yet here he was, cracking jokes.

“This is where you all say ‘Hello Richie’, or a ‘thank you for sharing this.’,” Richie chuckles, which seems to snap Bev out of her staring.

“I’m Beverly, but you can call me Bev.” Bev speaks up. “And the rest of these Losers are Bill, Ben, Stan, Mike and Eddie.” She continues, gesturing at everyone as she speaks their names. Richie’s eyes land on Eddie, grinning wildly.

“So the cutie has a name.” He snickers, ignoring Eddie’s spluttering. “So what are your powers, I know yours Molly Ringwald, and Bill has some kind of mental powers..” He trails off slightly, and the Losers seems to share a glance for a moment, and Richie raises an eyebrow at the way they seemed to communicate.

It seemed so clear if you knew what Bill’s powers were.

“Not q-quite, I can connect our m-minds.” Bill speaks up. “Bev has f-fire powers, Eddie controls wind, human s-shield, levitation and unknown.” Gesturing at Mike, Stan and then Ben respectively. Richie glances at Ben for a moment, but the boy shrugs at that.

“I haven’t figured out mine, didn’t know I was a Super until a few days ago when I met these guys.” He explains, and Richie hums knowingly.

“Lovely,” Richie says, turning his gaze back to Bill. “So where are your parents?” He asks.

“Work,” Bill says and his stomach then seemed to betray him, letting out a low rumble that filled the silence. Richie grinned cheekily, folding one arm around it.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any food here huh?” He laughs, and Stan rolls his eyes as he walks over to the kitchen.

*

*

*

“He’s weird.” Eddie frowns, watching the boy’s chest rise and fall gently.

“He’s traumatised.” Stan retorts, and Eddie sighs. Most of the losers had gone home already, not able to stay away for too long at the time. Only Eddie and Stan refused to leave right now. Their bond with Georgie was stronger, having grown up with him, and also having been there when he had been born.

Richie had fallen asleep on the couch quite quickly after finishing his food, exhaustion still pulling him down. And Bill had carried Georgie away when he too had fallen asleep on the couch, leaving just Stan and Eddie with the boy.

“Those aren’t mutually exclusive.” Eddie huffs, but Stan shakes his head. There was a short silence, but it was a comfortable one. Richie’s breathing was steady, even if his face was still pale and his hair was still sticking to his forehead from the sweat. His body was still stiff, on edge for any danger, but the medicine was doing its job.

Though even despite the sickness Richie had seemed so bubbly, so open. It had taken them off guard for sure. And despite his goofy nature, it was clear how protective he was of Georgie, it was visible even in the living room, but they had all known it after their fight just last day, protecting Georgie even if he was basically in need of protection himself.

“How long do you think he’s been there?” Eddie whispers after a long silence, and Stan furrows his brow.

“Years probably.” Stan eventually offers, which did _not_ make Eddie feel any better.

“Too long.” Richie suddenly muttered, and Eddie jumped away from the edge of the couch, causing Richie to chuckle slightly, exhaustion all too clear.

“Fucking hell Richie, don’t scare me like that.” Eddie curses, and Richie’s eyes flutter open for a moment, glancing at Eddie and Stan from his spot on the couch, his head on the pillow. He made no effort to sit up, but he was eyeing them warily, as if he was trying to see if he could trust these people.

“You don’t know?” Stan frowns and Richie shrugs.

“‘s been too long Stan the man, and it’s not like they told me when it was my birthday.” Richie snorts at the thought. “I mean imagine how that would sound, ‘congratulations champ, another year in this hellhole, happy birthday, presents in the silence room.” He mocks, putting on a weird Southern accent.

“Silence room?” Stan asks, and the little spark in Richie’s eyes seemed to disappear, making way for a cold gaze. Eddie shivered slightly at that.

“Forgot it.” Richie breathes out, only now sitting up straighter. He dragged the blanket Bill had given him around him, hiding his malnourished body from view. There was a short, now awkward, silence around the room. They could both feel the tense situation and how uncomfortable Richie was with the subject.

Eddie made a mental note to remember the phrase ‘silence room’, because whatever it was, it made a big impact on Richie.

“Don’t you remember the year you were born in?” Eddie asks, and Richie glances at him with wariness.

“Did _you_ when you were young?” He retorts, snorting at that. Because he sure as heck didn’t know before he was taken. “And even if I did, I don’t remember a lot anyways, not after what they did those first few days.” Richie tries to shrug it off, but Eddie wasn’t letting that go.

“What did they do?” He asks, and Richie looks up, a hesitant look on his face.

“Let’s just say it was a shocking experience.” Richie grimaces, but the joke obviously fell flat, Stan glaring at him. Richie just shrugs, as if he was unbothered by the gaze. “I think I was 6 or something, maybe 5?” He mumbles, and both Eddie and Stan can feel their blood run cold at the revelation.

Because even if they had no idea how old Richie was, and neither did he apparently, it was clear he was around their age, probably around 13 or 14. To imagine being in there for _that_ long… Eddie frankly didn’t want to talk about it in the first place, being there years on end against your will.

And now it was suddenly clear why Richie had acted to suspicious and why he was in such a state.

“We can find out though,” Stan speaks up suddenly. “What about your family?” He continues, and Richie shakes his head, leaning backwards with a sad look on his face.

“Dead, they killed them when I was taken.” Richie breathes out, rubbing his face. He sometimes wished he could forget that memory as well, but at the same time, it was one of the few clear memories he still had of his older sister, and as much as he hated them, also of his parents. He didn’t want to forget them, how they looked. And he found himself longing to have them back as well.

He just wanted his old life back, even if that meant his parents being abusive.

“Richie..” Eddie drawls out, but Richie shakes his head, rubbing at the tears falling down.

“It happened, no need in dwelling over it.” Richie snaps, because there wasn’t. He had mourned them already, pushed it aside after the first few days. He couldn’t afford to think about it too long, and he hadn’t thought about them for years, not like this. He had dreams sometimes, nightmares as well.

Where he’d see their faces, and he’d wake up crying silently, but this was different. He could feel his chest restricting, throat closing up. He had talked about them with Georgie… and he had been fine, he hadn’t cried when he talked about his parents, how he missed them even if they were assholes.

How his dad used to hit him, how his mother didn’t care about him, and how the instead only seemed to care about Willow. She was the perfect daughter, he was the messed up one, which only made it more ironic that he was born with these powers, only making him more messed up.

Richie suddenly stands up harshly, trying to walk away but he only managed to take a few steps before crying out in pain, curling up into himself.

“Richie!” Eddie cried, rushing towards him. “You have to sit down idiot!” He yells but Richie shakes his head.

“Fuck off.” He seethes, brushing past him. Eddie didn’t have the heart to follow him. Richie didn’t know them, didn’t know him yet, and it was clear he couldn’t offer Richie the comfort he needed right now.

*

*

*

“You scared the shit out of us Richie.” Eddie mumbled, but Richie didn’t react to his voice. The only indication he got was a flinch from the boy. Eddie sighs, walking over to Richie and sitting down next to him. Eddie could see that his muscles were tense, gripping his arms tightly and shaking a bit.

Eddie glances at Richie, concern written over his face. They had only noticed after a few hours that Richie had been gone. And it was a few hours too many. Georgie had freaked out, and all the Losers had immediately gone outside in the hopes of finding Richie as soon as possible.

Richie was staring at the house in front of him, tears lingering in his eyes.

“Was this yours?” Eddie asks softly, and for once Richie turns his gaze away from the house to look at him. He nods silently, before dragging his gaze back to the house. Eddie knew nobody was living here. Nobody had bothered to fix the house, or tear it down at the same time. So it was just falling apart.

The house was still barely standing it seemed like, glass broken and burns all over the house. Eddie didn’t remember it really, it had always been there, abandoned and too damaged to live in. His mother had told him the story vaguely, about the fire killing an entire family, _guess that was a fucking lie._

“I just had to get out of the house Eds,” Richie shakes his head slightly.

“Don’t call me that.” Eddie frowns, and Richie chuckles despite himself.

“ _That_ is what you’re focusing on right now?” He snorts, glancing at Eddie with an amused smile. “Get your priorities straight Eds, I can come up with worse names, Edsie Betsy, Eduardo, Eddie spaghetti-”

“Okay okay I get it asshole!” Eddie quickly stops him, but Richie only grins wider.

“Huh, Eddie Spaghetti it is I guess.” And Richie couldn’t help but laugh at the way Eddie’s face turned bright red. For a moment he was sure Eddie would shout at him again, but he just sighed miserably, standing up instead. Richie felt a pang of sadness at that, but then Eddie held out his hand.

Richie wanted to shake his head, because he had _no_ intention of going back to the house, not yet anyways. He wouldn’t leave Georgie, but he trusted Bill for now to take care of him, and he just couldn’t be there. But Eddie seemed to understand that, almost as if he too could read minds.

“I know a different place.” Eddie supplies, and Richie glances back at the house for a moment, but he was just hurting himself by being here. So he nods, taking Eddie hand and grunting slightly as he was helped up. “That’s punishment for scaring the shit out of us.” Eddie throws at him, and Richie gapes at him with fake surprise.

“You wound me Eddie Spaghetti.” Richie cries out, but the smaller boy rolls his eyes, dragging Richie along with him towards the quarry. Eddie was just glad that Richie had lived in a home that was close to the quarry, but even then it took them too long for Eddie’s liking, with him still being injured and all.

But Richie pushed through it, walking after Eddie without much complaining until they reached the edge.

“Is this a hint you’re already sick of me?” Richie chuckles, gazing down. Eddie sighs in frustration, shaking his head.

“Surprisingly not yet.” Eddie mumbles, dragging Richie back a couple of steps and sitting down on the stones. Richie followed his example, lowering himself as well. He let out a low grunt, “Does it hurt a lot?” Eddie asks, but Richie waves him away.

“I’m used to it, and whatever you gave me is doing wonders,” Richie smiles. “How do you know so much about medicine anyways?”

“My mom mainly.” Eddie says, looking down for a moment. Richie stays silent for once. “She’s just been really overbearing ever since my dad died, taking me to hospitals constantly for some illness I don’t really have. For a while I believed her, and I used to read about everything, and so would my mom. I picked up a lot that way.”

“That sucks.” Richie mutters, rubbing his hands together. “Does she know?”

“That I know I’m not sick?” Eddie asks, but Richie shakes his head. And he didn’t need to clarify what he was talking about. “Oh no, my mom has no idea what I can do, she’d freak the fuck out if she did, probably put me in a mental asylum.”

“That sucks Eds, I’m sorry.” Richie mutters, but Eddie shakes his head.

“It has gotten a lot better, she stopped making me take all these medicine,” Eddie fumbles with the fanny pack around his waist. Stopping for a moment before sighing, taking out his inhaler. “I still carry this though, I thought I had asthma for the longest time, turns out I was just getting panic attacks. It’s the only thing I still carry.”

“There’s no shame in that Eds,” Richie shakes his head. “Same goes for those ridiculously small shorts.” Richie snickers, glancing at the shorts Eddie was wearing. Eddie went bright red again, and he flicked his wrist to send a gush of wind his way. For a moment his heart jolted, Richie’s trauma forgotten for a moment.

But Richie laughs, grinning like a madman.

“That was weak.” He snickers, and Eddie glares at him.

“I wasn’t trying genius.” Eddie scowls, but Richie shrugs.

“Well then do.” He says, and Eddie frowns in confusion. “Show me what you can do with your powers.” Eddie’s eyes widened for a moment, glancing around but then he realised where they were. Nobody ever came here, they had gone here with the three of them so many times, but they had never seen anyone else.

Nobody was crazy enough to come here, and this was also the place where they had more often practised their power as well. He sighs, standing up slowly and moving to the edge of the cliff. Richie was watching him intensely, but he tried to ignore that for now, focusing on himself.

He breathed in sharply, feeling his powers pull at him. It still felt slightly awkward, powers not totally his yet. He could control gushes of wind, but the more power he tried to put into his attacks, the less control he had over it, and the more he had to concentrate on actually releasing it.

He shifts slightly, and then he threw his arm around, sending a gush of wind into the open air. It pulled at the ground below him, leaves whirling around him and shooting into the sky. And it looked pathetic compared to other powers, especially Beverly’s, wind wasn’t truly visible after all.

Richie snickered behind him, looking at him with an amused smile.

“Well then show me what you can do.” Eddie snaps back, and Richie shrugs, standing up with a slight groan of pain.

“Because you ask so nicely, Eddie Spaghetti.” He grins, walking up to the edge as well. He was almost relieved when he allowed his powers to wash over him again, something he was _familiar_ with. He liked demonstrating his powers, not because he liked to show off but because it used to be the only time when he felt in control.

He was allowed to use his powers, show the guards what he was capable of, and for a moment, they were afraid of him, on edge for what he could do. It was a moment where he could be himself, where he could be powerful in a place where he was constantly belittled and overpowered.

So he smiled slightly, sucking in a breath and red rings burst around him, before he unleashed them. The screeching sound echoed over the edge, travelling straight to the other side. The wave shot right through the tree on the other side, and the tree toppled over the edge, crashing into the water below.

“What the fuck.” Eddie whispers behind him, eyes wide when Richie turned back around.

“Trial and error Eds.” Richie shrugs, walking back towards the smaller boy.

“Can you teach me?” Eddie asks before he can stop himself. “I mean you don’t have to, but if you want..” He adds quickly, but Richie chuckles.

“It’s okay Eds, I’m not ready to go back yet anyways but...” Richie trails off and for a moment Eddie regrets his question. “I’m not sure how to without hurting you. I can try...” He says, reaching out to grab Eddie’s hands, sitting down on the ground and prompting Eddie to do the same thing.

“How did they teach you?” Eddie whispers softly, almost too afraid to push. Richie glances back at him, sorrow in his eyes.

“I just had to to survive, survival of the fittest and all.” Richie shakes his head, looking back up again. “Close your eyes.” Richie instructed and Eddie complied after a hesitant second. He closes his eyes, taking a slightly shaky breath. Their knees were touching, both sitting cross legged.

“Try to focus on your breathing, just on that,” Richie started, and Eddie took a breath, as if he was taking it for the first time. “Feel yourself breathing in, and then breathing out again. In and out.” Eddie took a breath, releasing it again, he could feel it, not just because it was his body, but he could feel the wind, the air.

He had already been able to, but he never really paid attention to it. “Keep breathing,” Richie encouraged him. “Now feel the air travel through your body, all the way to your toes, can you feel it?” Eddie took another breath, focusing on the breath traveling down his lungs, and he felt a tingle in his toes.

Eddie nods softly, and Richie smiles. “Now travel up slowly, feel that tingle travel upwards, to your shins, your knees,” Eddie could feel it travelling upwards, and Richie watches him closely. “Go upwards more, to your thighs, into your stomach and then into-” Richie couldn’t finish the sentence as Eddie suddenly shivered violently.

Richie grins knowingly. “Can you feel it in your lungs?” He asks, and Eddie nods. “Good, hold onto that, now let it build. Pull everything into your lungs.” Eddie did as he was told, and he could feel wind pulling towards him, from every side. His hair whipped around him, and he felt himself shaking at the power.

It was begging to be released, trying to claw out.

“Let it go, Eddie.” And then he did. Everything pulled around him, wind pulling at him and catching everything surrounding him. He snapped his eyes open, seeing the leaves whirl upwards at incredible speed, and he could see trees bending towards him, not breaking yet but bending.

And then it stopped. The air seemed to rush back into Eddie’s lungs and he gasped.

“Holy shit.” Eddie says, staring wide eyed at Richie. “What the fuck was that?”

“That, my dear Eddie Spaghetti, was your power,” Richie chuckled. “Or rather; the source of that power.”

“I never felt like that before.” Eddie retorts, and Richie sighs, glancing up at him.

“Everyone has a source of their powers, Georgie’s powers are in his brain, Bill’s are probably too, and yours are in your lungs, which is like a huge shocker.” Richie explains, sarcasm dripping at the last part. “Basically you draw your power from that source, which you haven’t been doing.”

Richie stills for a moment, frowning slightly. “It’s just.. you’ve been using your power but you’ve been using it ineffectively. Think of it as warming something up with a match instead of a stove, it gets the job done, but it takes a lot more time and effort.”

“So what you’re saying is that I should use a stove instead of a match?” Richie chuckles at the question.

“Essentially yes. You were drawing your power blindly, not knowing where the focus is, but you were drawing it from that source a second ago. What you just did wasn’t any more powerful than what you showed me on the edge, but it took a lot less energy and effort.” Richie tries to explain, and Eddie furrows his brow.

Not because it didn’t make sense, but strangely enough, it did. He had never felt that power building up so much, not when he tried his hardest to harness it, not when he had been training with the rest of the Losers. It had always taken a lot of effort, sometimes even resulting in him fainting.

But what he just did.. it seemed so easy, so natural. He was about to respond, when Richie suddenly jumped up, muscles taut and glaring at the woods. Then Eddie seemed to hear the noise as well, and Richie responded immediately, breathing in and a bright ring or red erupted around him, ready to attack.

He never had to though, because the next second Ben and Stan ran towards them, stopping immediately when they saw Richie was ready to attack.

“Woah!” Ben exclaims, putting his hands up. Richie scoffs, powering down and staggering just slightly. It reminded Eddie that he was still injured, and weak. Eddie gently grasps Richie’s arm.

“What are you guys doing here?” Eddie asks almost hesitantly. It couldn’t be a good sign that they were here, because Eddie had texted them to tell the rest he had found Richie, and that he would bring him home when Richie was ready. Or maybe they just didn’t trust him, but that didn’t explain their appearances.

“We went to the library and we found what we wanted to know-” Stan stops, but so far Richie knew what they were talking about.. they went to look for who he was, when he was born, when his family was taken, what had happened afterwards. He wanted to know his age, his last name, anything he couldn’t remember.

“Richie do you remember.. from before you were taken?” Ben asks hesitantly, and Richie frowns.

“Bits and pieces, I told you they tried to make forget.” Richie snapped slightly, and Eddie could see he was getting frustrated at the questions. He had noticed Richie had a bad temper, almost unnaturally so. Things would frustrate him very quickly, anger him too quickly. Almost like emotions were foreign to him.

“Do you remember school?” This only confused Richie more, and even Eddie frowned in confusion.

“Why does it matter, Stan?” Richie snaps back, fists shaking besides him.

“Richie Tozier, that’s your full name.” Stan says, and Eddie can feel his body go cold, because _that_ sounded familiar, way too family. Memories rushed through his mind before he could stop them. The little boy running around with too much energy, seemingly never tiring from the exercise.

He was loud, obnoxious, but he was with them. Four of them, laughing and sticking together when no one else would. Bill stuttering too much, Eddie being too afraid of anything, Stan anxious and uptight, and the boy who was way too loud, would never stop smiling and spewing nonsense.

And they stuck together for a reason they then didn’t understand, drawn to each other because of their powers they hadn’t discovered yet.

“You were one of us, Richie. We were friends.” Stan explains, as if he hadn’t figured it out yet, even if the shocked expression on his face was enough to tell them that he had.

He remembered them being friends as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun… well not as much of a cliffhanger as last time at least! So the Losers finally met Richie, what did you think of this chapter? Let me know!
> 
> Also, depending on what you celebrate, happy holidays!


	5. Chapter 5

“Oh thank god you’re okay!” Sharon exclaims, pulling Richie in a hug the moment he walks through the door with Eddie, Stan and Ben. Immediately the boy flinches at the sudden contact, and he takes a forceful step back. He feels his stomach turn at the action, guilt churning inside of him at the look on her face.

After all she has done for him, and she was Georgie’s mom for fuck sake.

“I’m sorry Richie, I shouldn’t have done that.” She shakes her head, but Richie is too shocked to react. Hesitantly she extends her arm again, hovering above his hand but he doesn’t complain. She carefully takes his hand, checking for a second if it was okay before gently pulling him towards the couch.

Eddie stayed close, sitting down next to him on the couch. Sharon immediately hurried to get a blanket, wrapping it around him. He accepted it, not because he was cold, but because of the comfort it brought him. Sharon walked towards the kitchen, rummaging through it for a moment before coming back.

“You need another dose of medicine.” She just tells him gently, popping the pills in his hands. Richie took them without question, swallowing them with the water she had given him. Richie falls back against the couch, glancing to the side as Bill and Georgie come downstairs, the latter running straight at him.

Richie can only manage a slight smile, lifting his arm as a silent invitation to sit next to him, which Georgie does. He snuggles into his side, and Richie drops his arm again, letting it rest comfortably.

“Mom and I were talking when you were gone, and we need a plan.” Bill was the first one to speak up.

“A plan?” Ben asks, frowning slightly. Richie for once stays silent, allowing the medicine to wash away his pain, but with it also his energy. He felt drained, both emotionally and physically. Bill nods.

“The people that took G-Georgie and Richie are still out there,” Bill explains, and Richie flinches at the mention because he definitely did _not_ want to think about that.

“So why not report those bastards?” Beverly announces her presence, walking into the house with Mike behind her. Richie glances at her, but draws his gaze back again. “We know where their lab is now, we just go to the police and they fix this shit.” She says, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

“It’s not that s-simple Bev.” Bill frowns.

“Bill is right, what do we tell the police? Because telling them we are Supers sounds like a wonderful plan.” Stan remarks dryly, and the group falls silent for a moment. Because Stan was right, they couldn’t go to the police without revealing they were Supers.. and they had no idea how to deal with the government knowing about their existence.

If the bad guys were already experimenting on them, why wouldn’t the ‘good’ guys?

“Then what _can_ we do?” Beverly retorts, and Richie swallows thickly as the eyes in the room fall on him. He knew why they did, but that didn’t make him appreciate it any more. He huffs, tightening his hands around his arms, squeezing painfully to distract himself from the pain in the rest of his body.

Eddie seemed to notice, but didn’t comment on it, instead just carefully pulling at his arm, loosening it. Richie didn’t look at him.

“What were they trying to do? You told us they were killing all Supers when you escaped, so why did they?” Mike spoke up, but Richie still didn’t look up. Georgie whimpered next to him at the memory, and Richie tightened his arms around the boy just slightly, to let him know that he was _there_.

“They were testing us because they wanted to replicate our powers.” Richie sighs, rubbing his face. “They did tests and trained us to see how our powers worked, but they never really had any success so far.”

“They didn’t tell you anything?” Bev frowns and Richie snorts.

“No of course not,” He mutters. “I only knew cause one of those assholes couldn’t keep their mouth shut and wanted to scare me.”

“So what, they’re trying to make an army?” Eddie asks, and Richie shrugs.

“Essentially yes, and they knew they couldn’t control us after everything they did.” Richie agrees, gaze darkening. “Them killing us off only means they know how to replicate our powers.”

“Shit so they can just give everyone powers?” Bev’s eyes widened at that, hoping that Richie would shake his head, deny what she was asking. Because the mere thought of that was horrifying. The thought that everyone and anyone could be given powers whenever they wanted to. 

But Richie nodded reluctantly. “That was the plan all along.” Richie tried to shrug off, but it was clear that he wasn’t okay, at all.

“Okay so what is ours?” Stan cuts in, and the rest of the Losers glance at him with a confused looks. “What is our plan?” Stan clarifies quickly, and that seemed to stop the rest of them for a moment, and Richie frowns, looking lost at the question. So he stays silent, not _knowing_ what to say.

Because really, what could they do? They couldn’t go to the police without risking the government finding out about Supers, and that was the last thing they wanted right now. If movies had taught them anything, it was that the government was not to be trusted with knowledge about powered people.

So that was definitely out of the question.

“What _can_ we do?” Mike spoke up, glancing around. “Unless we plan on storming that lab, can we really do anything?” He adds, and Bev frowns.

“Except prepare for them to come to us.” She says, glancing down at her hands, as if she was waiting for flames to burst out again. “Master our powers, so we can fight back if they come back for all of us.” It went unspoken that they all knew what she meant with that sentence.

They would come back for Georgie and Richie probably, not to take them back, but to kill them. And it wasn’t a stretch to think that they’d be coming for them too. That the moment they would see they were Supers too, they would be after them as well, and in turn, kill them along with the other Supers they could find.

“So what, we just sit around and prepare for the inevitable?” Ben murmurs, frowning. “I mean no offense but you guys had years to train and Richie still beat you.” He says, gesturing to him.

“Richie can train us though.” Eddie supplies quickly, and Richie grins.

“Dunno Eds, I kinda like what Benjamin is getting at.” He snickers, leaning forwards a bit. “Cause I did beat you.”

“You knocked out Mike and Bill for a moment, that doesn’t count.” Eddie bites back, but Richie tuts.

“But I was also injured and outnumbered,” Richie tries to defend himself, but a faint smile lingering on his face.

“We get it ladies,” Bev interrupts them with a grumble, and Richie gives her a toothy grin. “But can you teach us?” She asks, glancing down at her hands again. Richie seemed to deflate again, and Eddie frowns at the sudden shift in emotion.

“You should ask Eds, I guess. He was the guinea pig.” Richie shrugs, but Eddie nodded.

“He knows more about our powers and how they work than all of us combined,” He says, glancing at Ben and Stan. “I told you about the core right, our source of our powers?” He adds quickly.

“Vaguely.” Stan shoots back, but Eddie waves him off.

“We were just goofing around and Richie dared me to show my powers, so I did. And then he showed me what _he_ can do, and well.. we all know he’s a lot more powerful so I asked him if he could teach me,” Eddie explains. “He helped me find the source of my power-”

“Our cores,” Richie supplies, and Eddie nods again.

“And that is what exactly?” Stan deadpans.

“The source of our powers, like I said.” Eddie throws back at him. “It’s where we draw our powers from, and Richie can teach us.”

“Such confidence Eds,” Richie grins, and Eddie glares at him, just for a second.

“So c-can you?” Bill asks, and for a moment Richie was silent, as if he was contemplating if he really could.

“I can try.” He shrugs.

*

*

*

“So are we going to ignore the fact that we knew each other as kids?” Stan deadpans as he sits on the floor of Bill’s room.

“Yup.” Richie says, popping the last letter of the word. “Now shut up and concentrate.” Stan glares at him at the command before sighing, closing his eyes. They were just with the four of them right now, only Eddie and Stan stubborn enough to _not_ go home, not like Richie blamed the rest.

Ben actually had parents that cared about him, and he didn’t want to worry them too long. So he had gone home to be with them for the first time in maybe two days. Mike had responsibilities at the farm, and he too didn’t want to let down his grandfather, not after what he had seen with Richie.

Not after they had seen Richie break down over the news that his family was truly gone.

Mike, just like Ben, wanted to be with his family, especially now he knew how fast that family could be gone.

Bev on the other hand, had to go home because her dad had forced her to come home, and the last thing she wanted was get him mad. She had been grounded for a long time before, and she couldn’t have that happening again, especially not now. She wanted to be there for the rest of her friends.

“So what now?” Stan asks, eyes still closed. Richie sends a knowing look at Eddie, who was sitting on the chair behind Bill’s desk, glancing at Stan.

“You wanna do the honours Eds?” Richie snickers and Eddie glares at him.

“You’re the expert dickwad, you teach him.” Eddie shoots back, and Richie smiles for a moment, dragging his eyes over to Bill.

“He’s still cute.” He says, and the Bill chuckles, shaking his head with an amused smile on his face.

“How about we focus?” Stan deadpans, glaring at Richie, who turns to him with a sheepish smile.

“Ya want a bit more attention love?” Richie cackles, but Stan was far from amused, glare staying on his face. “Close yer eyes Stannie.” Richie sighs after a moment, which Stan luckily did. He closes his eyes again, taking a short breath.

“Now what?” He asks, and Richie snickers at Stan’s impatience.

“Take a deep breath in.” Richie smiles sadly as he guides Stan through the same thing he guided Eddie through. Forcing him to focus on his breath, feel the energy travel down to his toes, and then slowly back up until-

“Holy moly.” Stan mutters, watching numerous objects float around him.

“Yeah that’s what I said yesterday when Eddie’s mom-” Richie starts but both Eddie and Stan use their powers on him. Richie laughs. “No fair, you can’t use your newfound powers on me.” He complains, brushing his hair back.

“Too late.” Stan smirks, allowing his mind to pick up the bear he had just thrown. Stan’s core seemed to be in his mind, like Georgie’s was, and where Bill’s power was as well probably. “But _are_ we going to talk about-”

“No,” Richie snaps, a scowl appearing on his face, a warning to not continue. But before they seemed to understand, he felt Bill poke at his mind. “I said no!” Richie shouts, jumping off the ground with a glare on his face. Stan was shocked at the sudden mood change, blinking a couple of times.

“Richie w-w-” Bill tries, but Richie shakes his head.

“I’m not waiting, Bill.” Richie snaps back, storming out of the room. Immediately the rest of the Losers were up, running after him.

“Richie!” Eddie shouts, but Richie doesn’t stop, rushing out of the front door.

“Leave me the fuck alone.” He shouts back, continuing to rush into the woods. But of course the Losers weren’t giving up, running after him. Stan was the first one to catch up with Richie, both because he was the fastest of the Losers but also because Richie was still injured and weak.

Stan could see the way he was holding himself, the way his breathing strained. Stan reached out, grabbing Richie’s hand and pulling him back, spinning him around. Richie froze for a moment, eyes widening and traveling down to look at the hand around his wrist, Stan not letting go.

Before he could even process it himself, he felt himself shiver with power, the familiar red ring erupting around him. Stan yells in surprise, being thrown back onto the ground. Richie didn’t wait, running away again.

“Richie!” Eddie yelled, and then a gush of wind pulled him backwards. He staggered, and he cried out as he felt a stab of pain through his side. His legs buckled underneath him, but before he could fall, strong arms steadied him.

“I g-g-got you.” Bill stuttered, and Richie glares at him. But it seemed as if all energy had left Richie, and his legs gave out from under him, and Bill gently lowered him to the ground. 

“Fuck off, Bill.” Richie whispers.

“You’re bleeding you idiot.” Eddie seethes, and Richie drags his eyes over to him, seeing Eddie support Stan. Richie swallows thickly, turning his head away from the small stream of blood trickling out of Stan’s ear. Instead he glances down at his own shirt, seeing fresh blood coat his side.

Richie stays silent as Eddie crouches next to him, lifting the hem of Richie’s shirt to look at the wound. Eddie grimaces at the wound, but it didn’t seem like Richie had popped too many stitches, only one as far as Eddie could see. The rest was agitated slightly, but seemed to be healing for the most part.

“What is the big d-d-deal anyways?” Bill asks behind him, and only then does Richie realise he’s crying silently. He growls low in his throat, wiping at his tears and slapping Eddie’s arm away in the process.

“I don’t want to talk about it, how fucking hard is that to understand?” Richie hisses, but Eddie frowns at him, Richie’s emotions just seemed too excessive, but they had other problems right now. Richie refuses to look at Stan, unable because of the blood, because that was _his_ fault. He had hurt Stan.

“Why?” Stan asks, but Richie still refuses to look. “Why is it so hard to talk about you being our friend?”

“Because it only reminds me of what I lost!” Richie shouts, shoving at Bill’s chest and staggering onto his feet. He sways for a moment, and Eddie immediately tries to reach out but he slaps it away again, glaring at the boy. He takes a few steps back, but he knows running is futile.

So he stays on that spot, where he can see all three of them.

“You have no fucking idea what you’re doing,” Richie laughs bitterly. “I mean, fuck, what did you think was going to happen now? I remember and suddenly we’re best fucking friends again, and everything is good?”

“Nobody said that, Richie.” Stan mutters, and only then does Richie look at him, flinching the moment he sees the blood.

“Then what is the fucking point?” Richie retorts, and Stan glares at him.

“Does there have to be?”

“Apparently, since you all seem fucking dead set on reminding me.” Richie’s arms were shaking besides him, anger and frustration all too evident on his face. “Just fucking stop, I don’t want to hear shit about the life I used to have okay?!” Tears started cascading down Richie’s tears.

Eddie can feel his stomach turn, taking a hesitant step forwards but Richie immediately took two backwards.

“You have no fucking idea that I _don’t_ want to be reminded of the life I could’ve had,” Richie just continues, but his throat was closing up, barely letting out any noise. “I don’t want to remember, I don’t want to know what I could’ve had, and I don’t want to fucking think about rather wanting to go back to my fucking abusive asshole parents than have _this_ life.”

Stan flinched at that, because he hadn’t been expecting _that_. There had been rumours in the past, ones that he didn’t truly remember but his mom had told him when he was a bit older. How a boy at his school would sometimes have unexplained bruises, and at that time Stan had already forgotten they were friends.

That the boy his mom was talking about was someone he had played with, stuck with.

But the rumours were there, vague rumours, speculations that they had hit their kids. The only reason that the rumours weren’t more popular was because the older sister never had those same bruises, never showed any sign of not loving her parents, and maybe also out of respect for their death.

It was easier to remember them as good people.

But just the mere thought that Richie would rather have abusive parents than grow up without them, or have his current life... that told Stan more than he probably wanted to know.

“Whatever.” Richie scowls, wiping at his tears before brushing past them to walk back to the house. The three of them glance at each other for a moment, but neither of them knew what to say, so they just followed Richie back to the house, glad that Richie was at least not running away from them anymore.

*

*

*

“You should be more careful Richie, you’re still healing,” Sharon mutters, pulling the second stitch through the now agitated wound. Richie hisses burying his face in one of the pillows she had given him. He groans lowly, tightening his arms as Sharon snaps off the thread of the stitch.

He almost hesitantly lifts his head back up, staring as she covers his wound with a fresh bandage, securing it tightly again. He had to crane his neck a bit to see, as he was still leaning on his side so Sharon could stitch him back up. He was just glad the damage wasn’t too bad.

“I don’t know what was going on there,” She starts, picking up her stuff and glancing around the room. “But talk this out before it happens again. And if not, please for the love of God wait until his wounds are healed.” She can’t help but smile slightly, and Richie lets out a snort at that.

“Thanks for the concern, Sharon.” He says, grinning up at her.

“Now _he_ gets it after a day,” Sharon points at Eddie and Stan.

“Sorry Mrs. Denbrough.” Stan shrugs, but he didn’t seem all that concerned. Sharon rolls her eyes, grabbing the rest of the stuff and walking away from the living room, leaving the four Losers alone. Richie huffs, laying back down with his face half buried in the pillows, side still exposed if it weren’t for the bandage.

There was a short silence around the room, nobody really knowing what to say after what had just happened. It didn’t truly register at the same time, how everything went wrong so quickly.

“Hey Richie-” Bill starts, waiting for a moment. Richie makes a low noise in his throat, lifting his head reluctantly. “We’re r-r- we’re really sorry for b-bringing it up, we won’t anymore if y-yo- if you don’t want us to.” Bill states, and Richie can’t help but smile gratefully at the other boy.

“Bill’s right Rich, we didn’t know it was a big deal to you, we’re sorry.” Eddie says, and even Stan nods.

“Just..” Richie starts hesitantly, licking his lips. “Don’t do it again, okay?” Again the boys nods, and Richie huffs out a breath, leaning back against the pillow again. 

“We w-won’t.” Bill affirms, fiddling with his hands. “Are you still okay to t-t-teach us?” He asks, and Richie shrugs from the spot on the couch.

“Sure, but I don’t think Sharon will be happy if I get off the couch. Need to save my energy for tonight,” Richie responds.

“Tonight?” Eddie asks with a slight frown.

“Yeah, I have a date with your mom-”

“Fucking beep beep Richie.” Eddie snaps, and Richie chuckles, raising an eyebrow.

“Beep beep?” He asks, but Eddie rolls his eyes.

“It means ‘shut up’” He says.

“Love you too, Eddie Spaghetti,” Richie puckers his lip, blowing a kiss at the smaller boy before turning to Bill. “So up for your first lesson?” He asks, and Bill shrugs, sliding off the couch and sitting on the floor instead. Richie didn’t move from his own spot, but he didn’t need to really.

Richie didn’t need to move to help Bill through the steps, and besides, Bill had seen him help Stan just hours ago. Bill’s power was, unsurprisingly, in his brain, but what did surprise Richie was the discovery that Bill had been using his powers _correctly_ before Richie had even come along.

Which wasn’t too surprising for the rest as Bill had always been the one with the best grasp on his powers, but even he hadn’t consciously known about where his core was. But it did allow him focus more, expand his mind and easily link up all four of them without the usual strain that it took him.

It wasn’t bad other times, the strain of having walked for an hour Bill often used to explain it, but now it seemed to be _gone_.

Bill smiles at the power he was feeling, the excitement of suddenly _understanding_ his powers, the minds around him seemed clearer, brighter maybe. Bill couldn’t really explain it either, but it seemed like everyone in the room was more noticeable, as if they were all lightening up, making it obvious they were _there_.

And he could feel everyone in the house without even trying to.

He laughed giddily, glancing at Eddie and Stan, but obviously they had no idea what was going on in his head, but he smiled nevertheless, turning his head towards Richie. His smile softens slightly at the sight, Richie’s eyes closed and face pressed into the pillow and jaw slacked and slightly open.

_“Guys,”_ Bill mentally reaches out, causing both Eddie and Stan to look at him. He simply gestures to the couch, a smile still on his face. Richie hadn’t been able to truly relax, always a troubled look on his face or a look of sadness, he was even restless in his sleep, as much as he did sleep.

He was either turning, in distress or just… sad, even if he tried to hide it.

For the first time he was at peace since they brought him home.

*

*

*

“Are we ready for this?” Mike asks anxiously, glancing around the living room of the Well house, but now, instead of being here with the six of them, there were seven people around.

“Was I, Mikey?” Richie snickers, only realising how morbid that was, and what it implied, a second too late. Of course he wasn’t ready “Practice makes perfect.” Richie shrugs after a moment, staring at the floor instead of the rest of the Losers. Mike frowned for a moment, before walking to the middle of the living room.

They had cleaned up a bit since the last time they came here, and the furniture had all been pushed to the side, creating one big open space for them to train in.

“Okay let’s try.” Mike sighs, shaking his head and walking over to the middle of the room. Eddie was chewing on his lip, anxiously bouncing on his feet. Not like anyone could blame him for being anxious about what was coming. Bev was standing on the other side of the room, fire already in her hands.

It hadn’t been a huge surprise either that Bev’s core was in her lungs, whereas Mike’s was in his heart. None of it surprised any of the Losers.

“Just go easy,” Eddie murmurs but Bev grins at that. And before Eddie could say something else, Bev was throwing fire at him. Eddie yelps, and his whole body was screaming at him to jump out of the way, his power screaming at him to use it, deflect the attack with wind, could feel it pulling at him.

But he stayed put, trusting Mike, probably despite his better judgement. He can’t help but throw his arms up, knowing that it won’t help but not able to do nothing either. Before he knew what was happening, he felt something wash over him, just seconds before Bev’s fire connected with him.

He grunts, stumbling backwards but the attack didn't _hurt_.

He turns to Mike with wide eyes almost, and he gives him a shaky smile as a _thank you_. Mike’s attention immediately went back to Bev however, watching her intensely as she threw another ball of fire at Eddie. Mike frowns, concentrating on keeping the shield around Eddie to protect him.

Though before Mike could _truly_ process it, a ball of fire was thrown at him. His eyes widened, even though he knew it was coming, but he was still surprised for a second as it surged towards him. He acted on instinct, pulling the shield back into himself just in time for the ball of fire to hit him.

“Good,” Richie murmurs, watching intently at the fight in front of him. He seemed more focused than usual, and it kind of scared Bill to see him like this. It was almost as if he wasn’t Richie anymore. He seemed detached from himself almost, like someone else was taking over his body right now.

But with all that Georgie had told him about the lab… that didn’t surprise him either.

Bev continued with the attacks, throwing balls of fire at either Mike or Eddie. And Mike kept up as well as he could, pushing the shield at Eddie before taking it back, and repeat the process. Until eventually Richie nudged Stan, gently pushing him forwards, and Stan glances at him for just a second before walking forwards.

He frowned slightly, allowing his powers to wash over him before picking up the nearest object he could find and flinging it at Eddie. Eddie’s eyes widened for a moment, he felt the shield was still on Mike, so he knew he had to defend himself. He felt the wind pulling at him and he threw it at the object.

The stuffed animal blew to the side, but Stan picked another one up again. They had taken them from the storage room in Bill’s house, knowing they could use them to practice their powers. Stan smiles despite himself, shuddering slightly as he picked up a second stuffed animal along with the first.

He felt powerful, in control.

They continued to fight back and forth, switching attacks as infrequently as they could. Mike’s only task was to shield anyone who Bev attacked, whether that was himself or Eddie. And so he did, even when Stan threw stuff at him, and Bev at Eddie. He shielded Eddie, and in turn, Eddie defended him.

It seemed to last just a few minutes, but eventually after a good 30, Richie stopped them.

“Already?” Eddie heaves, panting slightly at the exhaustion. It wasn’t just a physical exhaustion, it was more mentally. Difficult to describe as well, but the rest of the Losers seemed to understand, and also in a similar state. Bill was standing next to Stan right now, helping him up.

Bev was already sitting on the edge of the couch, huffing out a breath and brushing her unruly hair back. Only Richie, Ben and Bill weren’t exhausted right now, but Bill could still see Richie holding himself a bit awkwardly. Even if it had already been two days since their little.. accident.

“We can go on if you like,” Richie grins.

“How about no?” Eddie deadpans, and Richie snickers, causing the smaller boy to glare at him. “Yeah well, it’s all super funny when you’re not doing the training, how about you go and get shot at for 30 minutes.”

“I did last night with your mom,” Richie laughs, eyeing at Stan for a second but he waves him off, too exhausted to throw something at him right now. “Besides, this is a warm-up for me.” That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, because even if Richie didn’t outright say what he meant to the rest,

They all understood what he meant.

Back at the lab, the training they made him do. After all, there was a reason Richie was able to use his powers so well. Eddie frowns slightly at that, Richie had told him that he _needed_ to learn how to use his powers to survive. It wasn’t a stretch to theorise Richie had been forced to train for a long time, and much more brutal than this.

He glances at the stuffed animals for a moment, and something told him that they hadn't used something similar on Richie.

“We should go home, I don’t know about you guys but I’m beat,” Mike spoke up after a tense, albeit short, silence.

“Mike’s right, and mom is m-making dinner for us.” Bill says, and the rest of the Losers silently agree. They were all ready to go home, feeling the exhaustion of using their powers for so long. Only Ben truly didn’t, because so far they hadn’t been able to figure out what his power was.

Even locating his core wasn’t working.

But none of them were giving up, they had promised to help Ben with his powers, and so they would. And even Richie didn’t know how to discover what someone’s power was. Everyone that had come into the lab had a power they already knew about, even if it was an accidental outing like Richie.

Richie frowned slightly, hands in his pockets as he followed the rest of the Losers home. It wasn’t long before they reached Bill’s home again, and Richie silently creeped into the home, feeling more lost than he had when he first woke up, and he had no idea why he was feeling like that.

“Richie?” He could hear someone ask, but he ignored them, making his way upstairs before he could stop himself, or before anyone could stop him. He just felt himself move, mind blank as he pushed the door to Georgie’s room open.

“Richie?” It was another voice, and the only reason he knew who it is was because Georgie’s mom was sitting right there. Georgie was immediately up, and Richie knew that he could sense his emotion… the despair he was feeling, and the heavy feeling he had in his stomach, overwhelming him.

He felt a sob build in his throat, and before he could say anything about it he felt two arms wrap around him. He whimpers softly, sinking to the ground and Georgie moved without needing to be told. He shifted, climbing into Richie’s lap and wrapping his arms around his chest like a koala.

“I’m here, Chee.” Georgie murmurs, and Richie squeezes his eyes shut, tightening his arms around Georgie and just _ignoring_ everything around him. And he still had no fucking idea why he was so upset.

*

*

*

_“Get up you fucker,” Guard #3 growled lowly, staring down at him. Richie heaved, fighting back the urge to throw up, knowing that it would only make the situation worse if he did. So he swallowed thickly, willing his small body to stand up. It almost didn’t listen, trembling and shaking violently._

_He pushed past that, forcing his legs under him. He stared at the other side of the room, eyes wide with fear. His heart was beating in his chest, begging to be let out, but his ribcage wouldn’t allow it to leave. Trapped… trapped like he was trapped in this hellhole, in this room that he hated so much._

_His opponent was looking at him with a numb expression, like she always did. It was easier not to feel, and he knew that all too well._

_“Now attack him like you mean it,” Guard #3 ordered, and the girl did without hesitation. The ground beneath them rumbled, and before he knew it, rocks flew at him. His eyes widened, and he forced himself to do something... anything. But the power that he had used on his dad didn’t listen to him._

_It was as if it wasn’t there anymore._

_He jumps out of the way, ducking and dodging the attacks even though he knows the guards won’t lik-. He can’t even finish the thought, and he cried out in pain, seizing on the spot. He could feel something slam into him, and he tumbled to the ground again, landing on the ground before he even realised it._

_Pain exploded in his chest, and he cried out, gasping as electricity stopped._

_“Stand your fucking ground, or you get another round of that,” The guard yelled, and Richie sobs, arms shaking beneath him. He could feel tears leaking out of his eyes, but he was too tired to brush them away, too exhausted to care about them. He splutters, sobbing at the pain in his chest._

_But he knows.. he knows too well that he can’t stay down, that he had to get up._

_He knew it all too well after … Richie stops for a moment, because he had no idea how long it had been, they never told him. it could’ve been weeks, maybe months. He just knew that he didn’t understand what was happening, and he wanted his parents back, he wanted them to take him back._

_He didn’t care that his dad got mad sometimes, he just wanted his dad, he wanted his mom to take him home._

_But they weren’t here, the bad men shot them, he was alone._

_He whined low in his throat, forcing his legs under him. The guard smirked as he finally stood up. Richie could feel his face filled with tears, eyes puffy from the crying. He wanted his mom, wanted her to hold him and tell him everything was going to be alright, but he knew she wasn’t here, and she wasn’t coming._

_So he pushed his tiny legs under him, gaze focusing on the girl in front of him._

“Richie!”

_Before the guard could even give the order, the girl lifted more rocks. It was against her will, he knew that, she was in here against her will just like him. Everyone here was, locked up whenever they didn’t need them, like animals, killed when they didn’t need them anymore, and killed when he wasn’t good enough._

_His chest was seizing, stomach turning. He wanted to go home, he wanted out. He wanted the guards to stop hurting him.. he wanted to stop the pain._

“Richie!”

_The girl threw the rocks, and they flew at him with immense speed but it was as if they had slowed down. All the hurt.. the confusion.. the pain. His stomach lurched painfully, and he shuddered. He saw his mom, his sister, his dad, blood.. so much blood on the floor, on his arms.. on his face._

_In his mouth.._

_And then he screamed._

He screamed loudly, arms flailing around. He needed to get out, needed to get away. He sobbed loudly, feeling energy burst around him. No no no, that wasn’t right. It only made Richie panic even more, they never let him keep his powers, he never had his powers while he slept.

Something was wrong, and he cried out again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His power slipped before he could stop himself. Someone cried out, but he didn’t pay attention to it, he just need out.. he needed to get away. Safe, he wanted to be safe. He needed… he needed to move.

Someone was talking to him, but he couldn’t hear them, and he tried to stand up, tried to get his legs beneath him, but he only managed to take two steps before he fell, crashing to the ground. He cries out loudly, feeling his chest and side burst with pain, overwhelming.. hurt.. he needed.. needed to.

Someone put a hand on his shoulder again, and he screamed, feeling his power leave his mouth. It was a shrill sound, but he almost couldn’t hear it.

And suddenly he was gone. His body instantly stilled, world brightening around him. He was on the beach, feet sinking into the sand, water reaching him. The sun was bright and he was on his own, totally alone. It should’ve freaked him out, he knew that, but instead he felt a calm feeling wash over him.

“Richie?” Another voice asks.

“What the fuck is happening?”

He blinked, whirling around. The voice was right, what the fuck was happening? Where was he?

“I-I…” He recognised the voice, that was Ben. “I don’t know, Eddie.” He blinked a couple of times, and suddenly he realised that he couldn’t feel it. His toes curl in the sand, but he didn’t feel it, the wind blew around him, but he couldn’t feel it, his hair stayed where it was, his clothes didn’t move.

The hand on his shoulder left, and suddenly he was pulled back violently, back into the living room. His eyes widen, looking around frantically. All the Losers were watching him with equally terrified eyes, the lights in the living room on. He blinked a couple of times, as if that would make more sense to him right now.

Ben was by his side, eyes wide and hands shaking. He sobs, tears jumping in his eyes. Everything seemed to crash back into him, looking around the room with wide eyes. Beverly was holding something to her head, and he could see blood soaking the piece of cloth, and Bill was holding Eddie up, hand on the back of his head.

_He_ did that… he hurt his… friends.

He could feel tears spilling from his eyes, and he sobbed before he could stop himself. He hurt his friends.. he hurt them.. he hurt them… he hurt.. he drew his knees up, burying his head between his knees. And he cried, rocking himself back and forth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first hint of Ben’s power! 
> 
> Also, Eddie is quickly caching on to the fact that Richie clearly is not okay mentally. But his outbursts and changing emotions will be explained later on!
> 
> For now, let me know what you guys think and happy new year!


	6. Chapter 6

“We need to talk about last night.” Bev says, plopping down on the chair without hesitation. Richie swallows thickly, glancing at her. The wound on her face, near her left eyebrow had been cleaned by Bill’s mom, and there were two stitches in it, but it wasn’t too bad all things considered.

The wound itself wasn’t… the fact that it was his fault was.

He glances at Eddie, but the smaller boy seemed fine. There was still a knot on the back of his head, but it wasn’t visible. There was a little bit of blood last night but it had already been cleaned. And now Eddie was here, freshly showered and a new set of pyjamas, swallowing two painkillers.

“What did you see Richie?” Stan asks sharply, glancing at him. Richie frowns slightly, because he hadn’t told Stan, or any of them, about what he saw. So how did they know? “You went silent the moment Ben touched you.” He explains, seeing the look of confusion on Richie’s face.

Richie glances at Ben at that, seeing him fidget with his pyjama shirt, clearly confused about all of this as well.

“I think that’s my power,” Ben sounded hesitant, lifting his head to look at Richie, because of course he would. Richie knew the most about their powers... and had probably experienced the first time Ben used his powers, truly used his powers.

“So what happened?” Stan asks again, glancing at him. Richie swallows again, head spinning slightly at the memory.

“I was… I was on a beach, I think,” Richie frowns.

“My parents used to take me there when I was younger, my grandparents lived there before they moved,” Ben explains. “It was a happy memory.” He shrugs.

“So what, you took him there?” Bev asks, glancing between Ben and Richie.

“I mean I think so, I don’t know what I did really,” Ben tries to explain, a frown still on his face. “What do you think?” This time he was looking at Richie instead, who looks back with an almost bewildered expression. He was still not feeling like his usual self, not having the energy to pretend everything was fine.

So he just sat there, half listening to the conversation, Richie huffs softly.

“That you have some kind of visual projection powers. I wasn’t truly seeing what I was seeing, you just made me think I did.”

“So you could feel it was fake?” Stan asks, and Richie shrugs.

“I’ve seen someone with similar powers before, she could share memories with others, but we would live those memories as if we were with her that day,” Richie explains. “I know what to look for, it just freaked me out since I was.. y’know-” Richie stops himself, huffing out a frustrated breath and looking down.

The Losers all exchanged looks, and their gaze also landed on the injury on Bev’s head. They knew all too well what Richie meant.

“What _did_ happen?” Eddie was the first to ask, and Richie knew that the question was coming.

“Kinda redundant to ask Eds,” He mutters, because of course they did know what happened. at least to an extent; a nightmare.

“You know what I meant genius, what was in the dream,” Eddie retorts with a slight glare. “And no you don’t have to share if you don’t want to.” He adds, and Richie huffs with laughter despite himself. Because the tone was harsh, but his face was filled with concern all the same.

And it was obvious that he wasn’t trying to force Richie, which the other boy appreciated.

“It’s not a big deal Eds, it was just about training,” Richie tries to brush off, but it only caused everyone else to frown more. Because Richie didn’t need to elaborate further for them to know what he was getting at. And the realisation only made them feel even worse than they already did.

“Richie…-” Eddie whispers, the horrible nickname Richie had called him temporarily forgotten. “Why didn’t you tell us that training us was a trigger?” He asks, and Richie glares at him at that.

“Because everything is a fucking trigger Eddie,” Richie spews. “Might as well starve because eating is a trigger as well, oh no wait, starving myself is one as well. And I’d say that staying alive is a bit more important than my fucking triggers okay?” Richie snaps, falling silent afterwards, including the entire room.

All the Losers were looking at him with a mixture of pity and disgust.

Not disgust for _him_ specifically, but disgust for the thought of what Richie had to have gone through in those labs.. just the thought that training his powers would be a trigger... eating would be one too... that hurt them all. What did they even do for it to be in trigger for Richie, how badly did they treat him?

Richie huffs, standing up and walking away without saying something else. Bev sighs at that, standing up and walking after him before anyone else could. Luckily he didn’t go outside, rushing to the kitchen. Bev knew there wasn’t any particular reason for that, he just needed to get away.

Richie sighs, rubbing a hand over his face as he leans back against the counter. Bev silently hops onto the table , looking at Richie with an almost unconcerned expression on her voice.

“I can handle myself,” Richie says after a moment, a sour expression on his face. Bev shrugs.

“I know you can, but that’s not why I’m here,” Bev shakes her head, but she didn’t take her eyes off him.

“Moral support?” Richie snorts, and Bev shrugs.

“Dumbass support,” She says. “I make sure you don’t do anything stupid while you’re upset.”

Richie chuckles light-heartedly. “Such low confidence,” He smiles slightly, shaking his head slightly. “I’m not going anywhere Bev.”

“And yet I’m still here, Rich, and I’m not going anywhere for now.” She says, and Richie knew her well enough already to know that she was speaking the truth.

“So tell me something about you,” Riche instead opts, glancing at Beverly. The ginger girl frowns at that.

“What’s there to tell?” She asks with a slight smile on her face still. “Mom died when I was a little kid and it has been my dad and I ever since, he home schools me so I don’t have any bitchy friends to complain about, although Greta manages still.” She shrugs.

“Does he hurt you a lot?” Richie asks and Beverly flinches visibly at the question. Because she was _not_ expecting that at all. She automatically shoves her sleeves down her arms, ignoring Richie glancing at the bruises around her wrist.

“That obvious?” Bev forces out, glancing back at the living room, but they were too far away for the rest to hear them, not like that meant she wasn’t afraid of them hearing. Richie shrugs slightly.

“I mean kinda?” Richie whispers, a sad expression on his face.

“It’s not bad,” Bev denies, shaking her head slightly. “He just doesn’t like me growing up, it’s why he doesn’t let me go to school, but he doesn’t hit me.” Richie carefully walks over to her, stopping for a moment and give her an opportunity to pull away if she wanted to. She didn’t, and Richie carefully reached out for her sleeve, pushing it upwards again.

His fingers carefully rested on the bruises around her wrist, looking up with a sad expression.

“It looks like he does,” Richie says, but Bev shakes her head again.

“He doesn’t, he just.. his grip is just really strong.” She says, but it was clear Richie didn’t believe her fully. Though he hadn’t seen other bruises before, so he didn’t comment on it.

“Are there any family members that could y’know.. take you in?” Richie asks, but Bev shakes her head again.

“My mom was an only child, and my dad’s sister Rebecca left before I was born. They don’t talk anymore. I don’t really know her that well. I think dad mentions her being a therapist or something, he called it bullshit.” She says, and Richie’s face softens at the revelation, feeling bad for the red haired girl.

He wanted to get her out of there, but he also knew that she wouldn’t appreciate him doing something she didn’t want.

So unless Bev would ask him to help him get away, he wouldn't do anything… at least if things wouldn’t get worse. 

“I know we don’t know each other long yet, but I’m here for you, and from the looks of it, so is the rest of the group.” Richie whispers, and Bev can feel the corners of her mouth tugging, and she smiles softly.

“Thanks Richie.”

*

*

*

_One week later_

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Stan asks sharply, staring at Richie from the other side of the room. Richie smirks, bouncing on his feet a little.

“Are _you_ up for this?” Richie shoots back, a playful yet concerned expression on his face. “Yes Stannie, I’m ready.” Richie rolls his eyes light-heartedly, shifting his stance to show that he was ready. Stan shifted into the stance as well, and before Richie knew it several items flew into the air.

It wasn’t just stuffed animals anymore, pieces of wood, old furniture, cups, glasses flew in the air. Richie smirked before he could stop himself, staring at the objects and waiting for Stan to make the first move, which he did. Stan shuddered with the power consuming him and he threw the nearest object.

Richie rolled his eyes, ducking out of the way of the first one. The attack was hesitant, and there wasn’t any fury behind it like Richie wanted. But the throw was accurate, thrown with precision, which made Richie smirk. The plastic cup soared over his head, crashing into the wall but not shattering.

“C’mon Stannie, I know you can do better,” Richie teases, staring at the curly haired boy. That seemed to be enough to encourage Stan that he could let loose. After all, it had been Richie’s idea to fight against all of the Losers today, completely brushing away all the worry they still had.

Richie’s wounds had been healing up nicely, and in the last almost two weeks he had been getting a lot better as well, physically at least. Richie had clearly been malnourished but Bill’s and Georgie’s parents had been giving him 3 meals a day, and Sharon and Eddie had been keeping taps on his wounds.

His wounds weren’t healed yet, and Richie’s form was still malnourished and weak. He still had his bruised ribs that were in the process of healing, and the wound on his side wasn’t infected anymore and healing well. But despite that the rest were still hesitant to allow him to fight.

“If you’re sure,” Stan replies with a shrug, and he lifts up a chair from the side. Eddie had to step aside to avoid getting hit, but Stan just threw the chair at Richie. The other boy was ready for the attack, the red ring bursting around him and he unleashed the attack at the furniture, splintering it.

Richie didn’t even have to try much, smirking as he watched the chair fall apart.

Within seconds Richie saw something being thrown at him again, soaring at him with great speed. Richie screamed again, watching as the glass obliterated, spewing glass around the room and bouncing against the sound waves. He revelled in the sound, glass shattering onto the ground.

Richie felt his power build up again and he shot, screeching rings travelling straight at Stan. The curly boy’s eyes widened, straining his mind to lift up the couch to block the attack. Stan grunted, forced back a few inches as the couch was hit, and he throws it at Richie immediately after.

Richie sucks in another breath, but instead of hitting the couch he ducks out of the way, sending the attack at Stan again, which he did _not_ see coming.

Stan gasps, throwing his arms up in a desperate attempt to shield himself but Mike was faster.

“Thanks,” Stan breathes out as Mike takes the brunt of the attack. Richie just smirks, after all, it had been his idea to do this. They could all see Richie was itching to go back to fighting, he was getting restless and, quite frankly, very annoying to deal with. And they knew they had to continue training.

Richie needed to keep up his powers, and the Losers needed someone to practice against.

So naturally, Richie had offered to fight the Losers. It took a day before they agreed, very reluctantly, but they did. Stan would be the first one to fight with Richie, and the goal was to get Richie on the ground, which was a lot harder than it sounded as Richie has had years of practice over them, 8 years.

So Stan was first, and only when Stan couldn’t protect himself anymore, like now, Mike had to step in to protect him.

“Are you sure about this?” Mike asks, but Richie didn’t reply, sucking in a breath and unleashing it. Mike grunts as part of the couch slammed against him, shield around himself again, and he quickly jumps over the couch, running at Richie. Richie jumped out of the way and rolling over the ground.

Stan was throwing stuff at him, anything he could find, while Mike was trying to tackle Richie up close.

Richie screeched again, obliterating a chair Stan had thrown at him and ducking out of Mike’s reach. The grin had fallen from his lips, a look of concentration on his face. It almost scared the rest of them, but by now they knew it happened, and also why it happened, so they just continued.

The rest of the Losers were watching as Richie dashed through the room, shooting down all of Stan’s attacks while Mike tried to tackle Richie but simultaneously keep an eye on Stan to make sure he wasn’t hit, which was, of course, what Richie had to do. They had to get Richie on his back, and Richie had to attack Stan.

It was a little harder with Mike in the field, but Richie was fast, and before Mike could really process it, Richie ducked behind the other part of the couch, letting a scream rip from his throat. The couch surged forwards and he jumped up, letting loose another attack straight at Mike.

The stronger boy was just able to dodge the couch, but the second attack slammed right into his chest.

He grunts, falling backwards and for a moment, he was too stunned to move. There was a slight pain, more like an ache, in his chest but he knew his powers protected him. And Richie used that moment of confusion, turning back to Stan. The curly haired boy widened his eyes again, glowering as he picked up more stuff.

But Richie let out attack after attack. Stan threw as quickly as he could, shielding himself from the attack with the objects. He picks up another chair, flinging it across the room, and Richie’s eyes widened, letting out a ripple of sound to shield himself. He grunts, forced backwards at the force.

He blinks for a moment, he didn’t expect _that_ much power from Stan.

But he quickly recovers, sucking in another breath and releasing it towards Stan, three consecutive attacks. Stan was able to block the first two, but he couldn’t force his mind to cooperate quickly enough, and the attack surges right towards him so quickly and yet so slowly, as if time was slowing down.

 _“Shield!”_ Bill commanded in their heads, and Stan winces at the sudden intrusion and he stumbles when Mike’s shield slams into him just milliseconds before Richie’s attack hits. Stan grunts, blinking as the shield was pulled back just as quickly and he glances at Richie just in time to see Mike attack again.

Or rather, for Mike to take the brunt of Richie’s attack before attacking himself.

Richie hadn’t wasted time, only stopping for a moment to see if Bill had warned Mike in time as they had discussed before continuing. Mike countered as quickly, and now with Bill’s voice in his mind he didn’t have to worry about Stan anymore, able to trust Bill to tell him when he needed to shield any of them.

So he attacked, and Stan renewed his attacks as well. Both Stan and Mike were breathing a little bit heavy, but even Richie seemed to be tiring a bit. He rolls again, screeching and forcing Mike backwards and in between him and Stan, and forcing Mike to block Stan’s attacks, the plates bouncing off him harmlessly as he still had the shield around him.

 _“Sorry,”_ Stan apologises but Mike waves him off half-heartedly, his focus still on Richie. Richie was about to attack Stan when he suddenly yelped, convulsing on the spot as Bill poked in his head.

“Fucking-” Richie growls, gritting his teeth. The pain increased in his head, and he rolled out of the way, snapping off the connection between him and Bill temporarily, and he felt his power pull at him, a ring bursting around him again before he shot it at Bill. Immediately Stan pulled at another object, throwing it in front of Bill.

The box exploded, but Bill wasn’t harmed.

Richie attacked again, sending two attacks at Bill quickly before he had to turn to Mike. The other boy was running straight at him. Richie narrowed his eyes, sucking in a breath before unleashing it on the ground. He shot into the air, and Mike gapes up at him, stunned for a moment as he flipped over him.

He used that confusion, sending another attack at the ground.. Mike yells in surprise, ground next to him splintering and he was shot to the side. He scrambles for moment, barely able to stay upright but eventually finding his footing again. Richie sucks in another breath to attack Bill, but Stan was faster, throwing another chair at him.

Richie redirects the attack, splintering the chair but before he can attack again, Bill was poking at his mind. Pain exploded behind his eyes and he yells at the pain, grabbing his head. He sucks in a breath, feeling power burst around him but before he can attack, someone tackles him from the side.

Pain shoots down his spine and his side rattles with pain. He cries out before he can stop himself, the attack ripping from his lungs in an uncoordinated manner, panic overwhelming him. For a moment he wasn’t with friends, for a moment he wasn’t in the Well house, he was in the lab.

And he had to win to survive.

Just a second, the thought lasted for a second and he watches with wide eyes as his attack travels straight at Stan, too powerful for him to stop. Stan’s eyes widen, throwing up the couch with a panicked yell. The attack splintered the couch, as if it was nothing but he knew that wasn’t true.

The couch had already been used and abused multiple times. But before anyone could do anything, Bev jumped in, firing at the red rings. Fire spew from her hands, and the attack slammed into the wall of fire. Bev grunts, scrambling backwards and the flames surged for a moment before dying down.

There was a short silence, all of the Losers breathing heavily and staring at Stan.

“Holy shit-” Richie murmurs, sitting up almost hesitantly. “Stan I’m so… sorry.” Richie whispers, seeing the damage he has done to the floor in front of Stan, scorch marks littering the ground from Bev’s attack.

“I’m glad to be in one piece,” Stan slowly starts, clearly still shaken up.

“I’m sorry Richie, I wouldn’t have done that if I knew it would hurt that much,” Mike says softly, guilt clearly written on his face as he carefully helps Richie up. Richie cringes, snaking an arm around his middle in a futile attempt to make it hurt less, and perhaps to make himself feel less vulnerable.

“Yeah it wasn’t as healed as I thought,” Richie grimaces.

“Could’ve told you that,” Eddie retorts back at him, rushing over towards him. Any other time Richie would’ve made a witty comeback, but his eyes were just focused on Stan, guilt all too apparent.

“Richie I’m okay,” Stan frowns. “Yes that was scary but we need to be prepared.” Stan says.

“As if that’s gonna make me feel better for losing control,” Richie responds dryly, allowing Eddie to fuss over him, pulling up his shirt to look at the wound on his side, but luckily it hadn’t reopened again, and it was still healing nicely, just a bit agitated again after the fight with the others.

“You were back there, weren’t you?” Bev asks softly, but Richie didn’t need to answer for the rest of the Losers to know that he was, so Richie just shrugs.

“I’m sorry Stan,” Richie just tries, but Stan shakes his head.

“Don’t,” He cuts him off. “We need to get better if we want to win, and we need to understand how dangerous it can be.”

“We sure do now,” Eddie frowns, letting go of the fabric, and allowing the shirt to cover the wound.

“So what now?” Stan asks, and Richie glances at him, guilt still on his face but Stan shakes his head. “Don’t even think about it.” Stan frowns, refusing Richie to apologise again. Richie notices the frown, and he sighs instead, turning to the rest of the Losers.

“Bill, Ben, come with me,” Richie orders softly, glancing at the two boys, before looking at the other four of the Losers. “Keep practising, I guess. Just don’t kill each other.” Richie jokes, and Stan rolls his eyes, not dignifying him with a response, which Richie honestly didn’t even expect at this point.

So he just tugs Bill and Ben with him to the next room.

“W-What are we doing?” Bill asks, and Richie glances around.

“We’re giving Benny-boy some well-deserved attention.” Richie jokes, and Ben’s eyes widen a little bit at the realisation what they were gonna do.

“Again?” He gapes, and Richie chuckles at the reaction. Even Bill couldn’t help but smile a little at the obvious excitement.

“On your knees, Benjamin.” Richie smirks, and Ben was too excited to comment on the remark, sitting on the floor instead. Richie and Bill both join him. “Okay just like last time.” Richie says, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of Ben, facing each other, with Bill at the side of them.

Ben closes his eyes, taking a deep breath as he focuses on the memory of the beach again, like Richie had instructed him to. It wasn’t the first time they had sat like this in the last week, but it was the first time since Bill was here, and neither Bill nor Ben had any idea why he was there right now.

But they also both knew too well to question Richie’s ways, he knew what he was doing.

So Ben concentrated on pushing his mind forwards, reaching out to Richie. The other boy shuddered slightly as his vision warped and he was suddenly sitting on the beach. It looked as real as all the other times, and for a moment Richie could only focus on making sure he _wasn’t_ actually there.

He brushed his fingers along the sand, feeling nothing but the hard floor he was actually sitting on. Richie took a deep breath to calm his now racing heart.

“Okay now try to focus on another place,” Richie says softly, and the reality around him seemed to struggle for a moment, warping and seemingly cracking before his surroundings did change, and he was suddenly in Bill’s living room. Richie shuddered a bit as the floor beneath him suddenly made sense.

He knew he wasn’t truly there, but there was wood beneath him, just like there was wood in Bill’s living room. Richie had to take a deep breath again to calm himself, to avoid freaking out entirely.

“Bill I want you to think of a place Ben hasn’t been to before, okay?” Richie commands, not seeing either of the two.

“Anything?” He asks, and Richie nods.

“Now link up your mind with Ben, show him the place,” Richie starts, mentally bracing himself. “Ben, see if you can take me there.” Ben stills a bit at the command, glancing at Bill with uncertainty for a moment. But Bill glanced right back at him with a reassuring gaze, giving him a small smile that told him it was okay.

Of course it was, if Ben had learned anything from the last few weeks it was the Losers didn’t mind him screwing up, they were all patient with stuff like this. They didn’t mind him not knowing his powers, they didn’t mind him not getting his own powers, and they didn’t mind helping him.

So Ben smiled back hesitantly, turning back to Richie and closing his eyes again. He could feel Bill poke at his mind, and he tried to focus on the image Bill was creating… that he was showing him. His face scrunches up slightly and he pushed forwards, forcing Richie to see what he was seeing.

Richie gasps slightly as his reality warps again, but the image was shaky. He could see something, outside, laughter somewhere before he was pulled back into the real room. He blinks, for a moment not truly believing that he was actually back in the room until he saw Bill and Ben.

“Sorry,” Ben whispers, angry tears in his eyes but Richie shakes his head.

“Don’t be,” Richie waves him off. “We can just try again.” And it was such a small gesture, but Ben sniffles, nodding as he removes the tears from his face. He closes his eyes again, and Bill pushed his minds outwards again, filling Ben’s mind up with the images and Ben tried again.

They stayed as long as they had to before Ben could take Richie towards a place Ben himself had never been to.

*

*

*

_The next day_

Bill was the first one to sense the people walking towards them, immediately on edge and pushing his mind outwards to link up all the Losers.

 _“People are coming,”_ He speaks up with an alarmed tone, scrambling upwards. The rest of the Losers instantly knew what Bill meant, up as quickly as Bill was. Richie immediately pushed past the rest of the Losers, standing in front of them as a way to protect them from whoever was coming.

It wasn’t because he didn’t trust them, or that he thought they were weak. They had been training for over a week now, they were continuously improving and getting the hang of their powers. But even so, even despite all the training they did, it still took three people to take down Richie just yesterday.

But Richie wasn’t allowing anyone to hurt his friends, because that’s what they had become.

Richie didn’t wait, however, for people to reveal themselves, sucking in a breath to allow the red ring to burst around him. The moment he saw the first person he attacked. There was yelling when the attack hit, and suddenly bullets were flying at them. He sucks in another breath, shooting back at the bullets.

They ricocheted off the shield and he sucked in another breath, shooting at the now visible agents. He could see the other Losers attacking as well, and he could feel just a slight feeling of pride at the way they were handling themselves. But the feeling lastly for just a millisecond.

Mike suddenly cried out in pain, and Richie’s eyes widened, whirling around to look at him. Mike’s eyes were as wide as his, a hand on his shoulder and a pained expression on his face. And it was clear what had happened, _Mike was shot_.

Bill screamed at that, glaring at the four soldiers and eyes flashing bright blue. Suddenly they all cried out, grabbing their heads and yelling in pain. Richie used the confusion to attack again. He could hear branches snapping off before they were thrown. Wind was whipping around him as well, along with fire.

“Stop!” A female voice suddenly screams, and Bill glowers as he recognised the woman, it was the same woman who attacked them in the Well house, his speech therapist. And he was almost prepared to attack again when he suddenly saw what she was holding.

“Georgie!” Richie cries out, and Bill could feel his stomach turn painfully at the sight. _They took Georgie._ “Let him go you fuckers!” Richie screamed, allowing his powers to wash over him and the red ring to burst around himself, a threat, a promise that he would attack and defend his little brother.

“I’m not going to hurt him Richie, I just want to talk,” She says, gesturing for the rest of the soldiers to lower their guns. Richie glares right back.

“How the fuck do you know my name?” He snaps, and the woman sighs, taking a step forwards. Richie sucked in a breath, sending an attack towards her. The woman grunts, stumbling back but guns were immediately trained on him, and he opted at just glaring at the woman, looking her regain her posture.

“Okay I deserved that,” She huffs, glancing at Georgie for a moment before waving at the guards again, to tell them to stand down.

“I asked a question,” Richie spits out, and the woman sighs.

“I know it may be hard to believe but we’re on your side here,” The woman says, and Richie snorts.

“Sure that’s why you shot at us.” Richie retorts, gesturing wildly at Mike. Stan was standing next to him, as a way to protect him.

“Rubber bullets, and you attacked first.” Her voice was calm, and yet completely on edge.

“Then you shouldn’t have snuck up on us woman,” Richie shoots right back at her, and the woman looks at him with a thoughtful look, as if she was suddenly realising her mistake.

“It seemed like the best option, we had to get in contact quickly to warn you,” The woman replies instead.

“Why?” Bill demands. “And why s-should I still trust you Becky?” Richie glances at Bill for a moment, but at least he finally knew the woman’s name. Becky sighs, glancing down for a second, as a way to compose herself. Then she gently nudges Georgie, gesturing towards Bill and the rest.

Georgie stilled for a moment, but quickly rushed over to Bill, clinging to him.

“I admit that lying to you wasn’t the best choice in hindsight, but I knew you were a Super and I wanted to make sure you weren’t taken. I had no idea Georgie was one too until he got taken.” She explains, glancing at Bill and Georgie.

“You knew ab-b.. knew about the lab?” Bill asks, tightening his arms around Georgie. Becky nods.

“We all do, we just haven’t been able to locate them so far, but we know they exist and we’ve been trying to stop them ever since.”

“How do you know?” Bill asks sharply.

“I’m a Super myself, but I managed to stay out of their way, it wasn’t until an injured girl came to us who claimed that people had killed her family that we started suspecting a lab. From then on it was just a lot of speculation. We managed to capture 2 collectors as we like to call them, but they all killed themselves before we could interrogate them.”

Becky’s gaze shifted towards Richie, and he swallows thickly. There was a look of guilt almost in her eyes, but also sadness, and he had no idea why.

“So why now?” Stan speaks up after a short silence. “Why 2 weeks ago?” Because nobody had forgotten about the attack, and even Richie knew about it. It had been a concern in the back of their minds ever since, but they all thought them to be working with the lab.

“We saw Georgie and Richie in the woods, and we guessed they had escaped,”

“And the logical thing is to attack us of course.” Eddie deadpans, and Becky chuckles despite herself and the situation.

“Richie seemed ready to murder, getting Bill to Georgie seemed like the best option.” She explains, and the group glances at Richie, who shrugs softly. He was ready to murder, had intended to murder if it was necessary to protect Georgie. “After we couldn’t get you to listen, which we don’t blame you for, we managed to lead Richie and Georgie towards the quarry,”

“So why now?” Stan asks.

“We don’t know why but they have taken people to the lab, teenagers,”

“They’ve done it before right?” Eddie asks with a slight frown but Becky shakes her head. Both Richie and Georgie were taken as small kids, and often their powers had manifested when they were kids, but not all of them. Ben had just discovered he was a Super after all, it wasn’t unusual for teens to be brought in.

“These kids aren’t Supers, we know they aren’t.”

“They’ve taken normal teenagers?” Richie asks softly, a lump in his throat that didn’t want to go away.

“We just don’t know _why_ ,” Becky adds, and Richie frowns, swallowing thickly.

“I do,” He says almost hesitantly, and Becky looks at him. “They were planning to kill us all. We had to escape if we wanted to survive.”

“Why would they kill you?” Becky asks with a slight frown. Richie takes a shuddering breath, and Georgie silently reaches out for him, wrapping a hand around his and squeezing softly. He could feel Georgie’s powers, taking away his panic.

“Because they know how to replicate our powers, they are giving those kids superpowers, but I don’t-” Richie frowns slightly. “It doesn’t make sense for them to kidnap kids, they need people that are willing to fight for them, not against.” Richie muses, more to himself than anyone else.

“They didn’t kidnap those kids, Richie,” Becky shakes her head. “Patrick recruited his friends, they went willingly.”

“Patrick Hockstetter?” Eddie hisses, and Becky nods in confirmation.

“You know him?” She asks, and all the Losers, except Richie, grimaces at the question. Of course they knew him, they knew the whole Bowers gang all too well. They had been terrorised by them for as long as they could remember. It was already bad when they were just bullied at school.

To think about those bullies getting superpowers..?

“He’s been bullying us for as long as we can remember,” Bev mutters dryly. Because even if she wasn’t necessarily targeted at school, she had been at the end of their bullying outside of it. And she definitely knew about the bullying as well.

Becky sighs, rubbing her nose. “That changes a lot.” She sighs.

“So the B-Bowers gang is getting powers?” Bill asks for clarification, and Georgie whimpers slightly at the statement, and Richie could feel a bit of fear creeping from Georgie. The younger boy had told him before about the bullies, so Richie knew he knew about them as well, even if it wasn’t the same.

“That’s the theory.” Becky nods, sighing again. “I think it’s better if we go somewhere else for now, this is a lot to process.” She adds, and Beverly frowns.

“And why should we trust you?” Bev asks sharply, and Becky smiles tightly.

“Don’t you recognise your own aunt, Beverly?” She chuckles humorously. And Bev’s eyes widen slightly at the revelation, taking a hesitant step back at that. There was a moment of silence, before her eyes narrow.

“I don’t have an aunt named Becky,” She hisses, and Becky chuckles despite herself.

“Becky is a nickname honey, for Rebecca,” Beverly finches at hearing the name, because _that_ was her aunt’s name. She whirls her head to Bill instead, and she didn’t have to say anything for him to understand what she wanted him to do. Bill takes a shaky breath, stepping forwards and letting go of Georgie’s hand for a moment.

He pushes his mind forwards, a look of concentration on his face as he links up his mind with Becky, eyes flashing blue.

 _“Don’t fight it._ ” He orders sharply, probing at her mind. Becky flinches for a moment but eventually nods reluctantly, allowing Bill to poke around her mind. There was a long silence, where none of them spoke before Becky suddenly gasps, and Bill blinks, turning back to the rest of the Losers.

“She’s speaking the t-t-truth,”

*

*

*

It was a little overwhelming to have so many people in the house, and Richie was standing in the corner of the room, always keeping the door close, feeling anxiety creep up on him as he glances around the way too small living room. All 7 of the Losers were in the room, alongside Georgie and Sharon.

And now also Becky, and 4 soldiers that were with her. They had taken off their weapons and masks, and they looked just like ordinary people, smiling slightly but still clearly on edge Which wasn’t weird considering they were currently in the room with 8 Supers they didn't know, who had also tried to attack them more than once.

“So you’re Beverly’s aunt, and you’re both Supers?” Sharon asks, tightening her arms around Georgie’s form. He was currently sitting on her lap, laying against her chest and burying his face in the crook of her neck. Sharon was _not_ happy that they had taken Georgie at all.

But for now she was just glad that he was safe, and in her arms.

Becky sighs, understanding the underlying question, what the hell was going on?

“I am.” She affirms, licking her lips. “I left Derry before Beverly was born but I moved close when I discovered my powers, I wanted to keep an eye on you. It wasn’t long before these guys recognised I was a Super, I joined them not too long afterwards.”

“How many of you are there?” Stan asks, arms crossed in front of him.

“We’re a small group, maybe 20 people,” She explains. “Not everyone of us are Supers like me. One of them is James.” She gestures to one of the guys sitting on the couch, who shrugs slightly.

“So what are your powers?” Richie asks sharply, and Becky glances at him, the same sad expression passing her features for a moment, and Richie swallows thickly at that.

“I can heal very fast and James has super strength.”

“So why did you never visit me?” Bev asks, glancing back at her aunt. “And if you’re a Super like us, why can’t we sense you?” She continues, and her aunt nods before rolling up her sleeve, showing her shoulder.

“You probably can’t see it but there is a chip in our arm to suppress that, we can’t sense each other, but we can sense other Supers like you. It’s how we know Bill was a super, and that you were.” She says, and it was a faint scar, barely even worthwhile to look at. “And I didn’t come before because I was afraid your dad would recognise me.”

“And t-teaching me?” Bill asks, and Becky shrugs.

“You came to me, so my brother couldn’t see me. James was actually the one to discover you were a Super. My only regret it not realising Georgie was one too.” She spoke softly, and guilt was all too evident in her eyes.

“So what is the goal here? Why contact us now?” Stan asks eventually and Bev’s aunt sighs.

“We knew Richie and Georgie had gotten out of the lab, but now we know that they’re able to replicate powers, we are pretty sure they’re building an army. We have to stop them before that army gets too big and too powerful.”

“And you thought it was a good idea to drag us into that?” Eddie spits, Mike turns towards Eddie, still holding some ice to his shoulder but Eddie shakes his head. “No I get why, we’re all Supers so we want them gone as well but we all know we’re not ready to fight, forcing us to do so is gonna get us killed.” A few people in the room flinch.

Not because of his tone but because they knew he was speaking the truth. They weren’t ready yet, they weren’t experienced enough and they were with too little. If the Bowers gang had gotten powers… that would already be difficult to battle, but an entire lab? That was something else entirely.

“We don’t expect you to fight, we don’t want any other kids to die,” James actually speaks up, and Becky’s face falls, the same guilty look on her face as she turns to Richie.

“Stop that,” Richie snaps with a frown, squeezing his arms in frustration. Everyone glances at him, confused looks on their face. “Stop looking at me like you just killed my cat or something, I’m not gonna break with every bad news.” Richie grumbled in frustration, and Eddie frowns slightly at the phrase.

Because despite his bravado, and the happy side of him he tried to show, the jokes, his loud presence, it was all an act Eddie could see. He recognised the signs of Richie’s clear anxiety, had seen the effects of Richie’s nightmares, him falling apart with every bad news wasn’t even a stretch.

Not like that was the point right now, so Eddie kept silent.

“I don’t think you will,” Becky shakes her head. “I will tell you when we’re alone Richie, you deserve at least-”

“No, I want to know now,” Richie growls with a frown, and Georgie looks at him with fearful eyes, not sure what was going on. Becky glances back at Richie for a moment, but she could see that Richie wasn’t taking a no for an answer. She sighs, dropping her head and taking a deep breath.

“I told you how we didn’t know about the Lab before a girl came to us right?” She starts slowly, and it was clear she didn’t actually want to say it in front of everyone. Richie nods sharply. “She teleported to our hideout, we think because she was unconsciously drawn to us being a group of Supers like her,”

“Why?” Stan asks sharply.

“We don’t know, it’s just a theory,” Becky murmurs, glancing back at Richie. “She was very injured, and we had to take her to a private clinic where we were staying at, luckily not in Derry. That’s how we met Barbara, another person in our group, she was working there, and promised to keep the girl’s powers a secret, and joined us soon after.”

“Why?” Richie asks sharply.

“Barbara is like us, a Super. She can detect any injury a person has, which is why she was working at the clinic, and how she could treat the girl that came to us.”

“So what was wrong with her?” Richie pushes out, voice tight. A tear slipped from Becky’s eye.

“She was in a bad shape but she eventually woke up after a few days, but Barbara told us she wasn’t going to survive. There was a certain poison in the bullets, specifically designed for Supers. It wouldn’t react with normal humans, but it would with Supers. We knew we couldn’t save her, eventually the poison would destroy her body, we could only prolong her life.” James but a gentle hand on Becky’s shoulder.

It was clear that they were all shaken up on whatever had happened.

“When she woke up she told us what happened. She grew up with loving parents she thought, but she walked in on her dad hurting her little brother one night. She tried to help but then he accidentally hit his father...They called the police on him, and the Lab showed up. They shot her in the stomach and took her little brother from her. That’s when she jumped.”

The entire time, Becky’s gaze was on Richie, silent tears streaming down her face. Richie swallowed thickly, swallowing the tears back and digging his nails into his arms. It hurt, but he didn’t care.

“You’re lying,” Richie was shaking on the spot, anger but also desperation clear in his voice. Becky shakes her head, not caring about the tears on her face and just allowing them to flow freely.

“I’m really not Richie,” She breathes out, cause they both understood without having to say anything.

“My sister is dead, you can’t just-” Richie stops himself, struggling to get the words out. Becky slowly stands up, taking a hesitant step forwards. Tears were brimming in Richie’s eyes, desperation all too clear, _begging_ her to tell him it was just a sick joke, a lie. Richie’s eyes flash red as she steps forwards.

He takes a step back, whimpering as his back collides with the wall behind him. Becky stops moving, putting her hands up to show she wasn’t going to move anymore.

“You’re right Richie, she’s dead,” She whispers, her voice tight. “But she died 5 months later.”

Richie was gone before anyone else could react.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm... it's gonna get better eventually, I promise. He'll get his hugs.  
> And I added an extra chapter at the end of the story!


	7. Chapter 7

_“You’re right Richie, she’s dead,” She whispers, her voice tight. “But she died 5 months later.”_

_Richie was gone before anyone else could react._

“Richie wait!” Eddie shouts, rushing after him. Richie didn’t listen to him, of course he didn’t A sob tears from his throat but he just continues running. He didn’t know where, he just knew he wanted to go away, get far and far away from the house, from Bev’s aunt, from the strange men in his living room.

From the truth that hurt too much.

So he ran, ignoring his body screaming at him to stop, he just continued running. He could barely hear Eddie behind him, blood was rushing through his head, roaring in his ears and making it almost impossible to hear Eddie’s shouts. He couldn’t hear what Eddie was saying, but he could hear him screaming.

He just ran as fast as he could, allowing his legs to carry him. He ran, no idea how long it had been. He eventually stopped, staring numbly ahead and breathing heavily, tears streaming down his face. Eddie immediately ran up to him, also slightly out of breath but significantly less so.

“Richie?” Eddie asks, anxiety clear in his voice, touching his arm gently. Richie flinches, taking his arm back and staring at Eddie with wide eyes. There was a silence, just a few seconds, before Richie broke down. Eddie moved without hesitation, wrapping his arms around Richie’s form.

Richie just cried, holding onto Eddie as if he was the only thing that could keep himself from literally falling apart.

Eddie had to bite back tears, looking up with sadness in his eyes as he held Richie as tightly as he could, being able to do nothing but be there for him. Richie sobbed loudly, finally letting loose and allowing himself to be vulnerable. The last news just being too much, and Eddie didn’t blame him for that.

He just held him tightly, rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him, tell Richie that was _there_ for him.

“I c-can’t E-Eds,” Richie hiccups, and Eddie carefully pulls away, glancing at Richie with worried eyes. “I can’t do this.. I can’t.. I can’t-” Eddie understood immediately, Richie’s ragged breathing all too clear. Eddie frowns, putting a hand on either shoulder.

“Can you sit down for me?” He asks, and Richie takes a few seconds to nod shakily, basically crumbling to the ground. “I need your to breathe Richie, focus on your breathing. Richie’s eyes widened, clearly struggling to even understand what the smaller boy was saying to him.

He breathes in shakily, choking on his breath and only causing himself to cry harder.

“Richie!” Eddie yells, feeling panic grip him as well. But Richie didn't seem to hear him anymore, and Eddie’s hands immediately flew to his fanny pack, taking out his inhaler. He shakes it quickly before putting it against Richie’s lips. It wouldn’t _actually_ help but maybe it was enough to convince Richie’s lungs to work.

He presses down, and Richie instinctively takes a gulp, still struggling.

“Just breathe,” Eddie murmurs, putting a hand on Richie’s chest, and he could feel Richie’s heart pounding behind his ribcage. Eddie waited anxiously, watching Richie struggle to breathe but slowly able to get his breathing under control.

“I can’t handle this Eddie,” Richie whispers, still slightly out of breath, but not in danger of passing out at any moment. Eddie didn’t know what to say, had no idea how Richie was feeling, couldn’t even come close. He could only be there for Richie right now. Eddie glances to the right, suddenly on edge.

But he relaxes quickly as he sees Becky stumble through the woods. Eddie glares at her for a moment, but at the same time, he knew he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t be angry at something Becky couldn’t control either. He just hated that Richie was obviously heartbroken at the moment.

“Are you okay?” She asks softly, sitting down next to Richie, not caring that she was sitting on the ground. Richie sniffles, rubbing at the tears.

“I don’t know how to feel,” He mumbles, and Becky nods silently.

“I didn’t want to tell you in front of everyone because of this.” She says, but Richie shrugs.

“It had to be done,” He replies shortly and almost hesitantly, Richie turns to Becky. “Was she happy?” His question was almost inaudible, throat tight.

“She was,” Becky affirms, tears in her eyes. “She missed you, and she did all she could to help us. She knew you were alive, and she wanted to find you. She actually helped us perfect the chips in our arms. But.. but she was happy Richie.” She whispers, and Richie sniffles, wiping at the tears again.

Eddie is silent, watching both of them silently.

“Are you okay, Richie?” He asks eventually, and Richie rubs the tears away, glancing at Eddie.

“Take me home,” He whispers, which didn’t answer his question, but Eddie nods nevertheless, helping Richie up as they made their way over towards Bill’s home.

*

*

*

“So what is the plan?” Bill asks, voice steady as he glances at Becky. Georgie was huddled close to Richie’s side now, limbs wrapped around him and forcing him closer. There was a blanket wrapped around both of them, as if they needed to warm up, which was nonsense figuring it was still mid-summer.

Richie was blankly staring ahead, eyes red and swollen from the tears.

“We know we have to act quickly, the longer we wait, the longer they have to turn more people into Supers, and for them to learn their powers,” The Losers paled slightly at the sentence, because Becky was right about that, and they hadn’t even thought about that before she said it.

Becky licks her lips, sighing. “So we fight?” Bev asks sharply. Becky shakes her head immediately.

“ _You_ are not doing anything, _we_ are.” She responds, and Richie scrunches up his face.

“You can’t just bench us, this is my fight as much as it is yours,” Richie snaps, and Becky frowns, looking at him with a soft expression.

“It’s too dangerous Richie. Besides, you’re not trained prope-”

“That’s such bullshit,” Richie retorts, fuming from his spot on the couch. “I didn’t spend 8 fucking years in that fucking lab to just be side-lined!” Richie’s eyes flashed red, power surging around him. Georgie flinched away, sitting up on his knees and putting a small hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t say anything, and the rest of the room was too shocked at the outburst. Richie was seething, and Georgie gently pushed his powers outwards, instantly calming Richie down. The older boy slumps in place, turning his face towards Georgie with tears in his eyes, and sighing after a moment.

They didn't need to speak to understand, and Richie tightens his arm around Georgie’s form.

“We’re not sidelining you Richie, we actually need you to be able to defeat the Lab,”

“But it’s just too dangerous for me to fight,” Richie mutters dryly, despite Georgie trying to comfort him right now. His emotions felt too overwhelming, too strong for Georgie to control them. But that didn’t matter right now, because Georgie was there for him, he was by his side and for now; he wasn’t leaving.

Becky nods with a soft smile on her face.

“It is,” She nods. “But like I said, we need your help. Georgie and you are the only ones who have been in the lab. We need all the information we can get if we want to defeat them.” Becky glances at Richie for a moment, but eventually he sighs, slumping on the couch as if he suddenly didn't have the energy anymore.

He huffs out a breath, nodding. “Fine,” He mutters, knowing he wasn’t going to change Becky’s mind right now. But that didn’t mean he was happy with the arrangement. He didn’t want to be left behind, he didn’t want others to fix what _he_ was supposed to be fixing, even if he knew it wasn’t just his fight.

So he stayed silent, listening as they came up with a plan he couldn't be a part of.

*

*

*

As much as he loathed that he couldn’t go, he couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief wash over him as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. There were only a handful of the people from the group Becky was leading, a group that didn’t have an official name yet but that wasn’t important anyways.

But they were skilled, they had years to get the hang of their powers.

Which meant that Richie could finally let loose, let go of the responsibility he has been carrying for so long. A responsibility he had felt the moment he broke Georgie out of the Lab, a responsibility he felt knowing only _he_ could teach the rest of the Losers how to use their powers well enough to survive.

“Are you okay?” Stan asks softly, sitting down next to him. Richie didn’t even look at him, he already noticed him coming over. Richie huffs softly, glancing at the scene in front of him.

“As much as I can be I guess,” Richie mutters. Eddie was fighting Bev right now, Becky standing close and watching, ready to give tips as much as she could. There was still the problem of different powers, which made it very difficult to teach each other, but it seemed like Becky had experience with that.

The other Losers, except Stan, were practising their powers as well, allowing Richie to sit out.

“What’s going to happen after this?” Richie eventually asks, releasing a shuddering breath. Stan glances at him.

“I can’t tell you Richie,” Stan shakes his head softly, because of course he couldn’t. He didn’t know _what_ was going to happen to him, or any of them.

“Shit Stan, I’m dead, I’m legally dead. I have nothing to go back to. My parents.. I mean they were fucking awful but they were all I have y’know? I have nothing Stan.. I’m dead, my parents are, my sister is… I ..” Richie stops himself, tearing up as his throat seems to close up, as if someone was squeezing it tightly.

He felt himself shaking, trembling on the spot.

“Do we mean nothing to you?” Stan asks with a faint chuckle, and Richie eyes at him with a sharp gaze, but Stan looks back at him with a sad expression. “I know it’s not the same Richie, but we’re here for you. After this is over we won’t just go away or something, you’re a Loser now and Losers stick together.” Stan spoke.

Richie stills for a moment, feeling himself freeze on the spot for just seconds, but it was enough for Stan to see it. 

“You mean that?” Richie whispers, barely audible. Stan smiles gently.

“We’re Losers Richie, so yes, I do. Everyone here does. We stick together because we’re all that we have.” Stan sounded sure, not allowing any room for debate.

“I mean as long as it’s not with Mrs. K, could you imagine that?” Richie chuckles dryly and Stan can’t help but snort.

“She wouldn’t even consider taking you in Richie, no offense.” Stan snickers and Richie shrugs.

“There’s a sexual joke in there but I’m too exhausted to make it,” Richie whispers softly, and Stan scrunches up his face at that.

“You’re insufferable, you know that right?” Stan shoots back, and Richie smiles lazily, turning his face back towards the scene in front of him, and the two fell in a comfortable silence.

*

*

*

“I can still come y’know,” Richie crossed his arms, staring up at Beverly’s aunt. Becky smiles hesitantly, walking over to him and placing a soft hand on his shoulder. She tips his chin up, forcing him to look at her. There were tears brimming in his eyes, tears of frustration rather than sadness.

She shakes her head. “I know you can Richie, but I don’t want you to,” She says with a firm voice. “I want you, all of you, to be safe while we handle this. We’re trained to do this, we’ve trained _together_ , you haven’t. Besides, you’re still hurt, it’s only been 3 weeks.” She adds and Richie’s face scrunches up.

He wraps an arm around his waist, feeling a tinge of pain run through him. Because Becky was right, there was still pain in his ribs, the wound on his side was still healing, stitches still holding it in place. He was still recovering, and everyone who looked at him could see it, could see that his body was still weak.

“I just want this be over,” Richie mutters, and Becky nods softly.

“It will be, after today it will be over,” Becky says, and Richie swallows thickly, glancing around the room for a moment. Not everyone was standing here in the room, only Becky was here from the group, the rest already on the edge of town and ready to go the moment Becky was ready to go.

The Losers were here, but not all of them in this room. Bill had taken Georgie upstairs with his parents, and Beverly wasn’t here either, even if she had said that she’d be here today. Becky looked around the room as well, one last time to make sure Beverly wasn’t actually showing up.

“I’m sure there’s a good explanation,” Stan tries, glancing at Becky with a knowing expression. Becky smiles at him, nodding.

“I know there is Stan, I just hoped I could’ve said goodbye.” Becky says, and Stan shrugs. Beverly had been reluctant to get to know her aunt. Not because she didn’t want to per se, but it was overwhelming for her, for all of them. She couldn’t afford to let herself get close right now.

So she had focused on training instead.

It had been 3 days since they met Becky, not nearly enough time to properly prepare, but they all understood that they had to move fast to avoid the others getting too powerful and getting the hang of their powers. And the longer they waited, the longer the Lab had to recover from the escape.

And the more they’d change.

“If it all goes well we’ll see each other tonight again, and it will all be over,” Becky speak and Richie can feel his stomach turn at that. Because he did _not_ want to allow himself to hope, wouldn’t allow himself to relax before the lab was actually gone. And even then did he doubt that he would.

Becky seems to realise that, giving him a concerned look but he shakes his head, sitting down with a huff. She takes that as her cue, glancing around the room one last time before walking out of the door.

*

*

*

“Bill sit down!” Eddie snaps with irritation clear on his face. Bill turns to him, guilt and fear swimming in his eyes.

_“Something’s wrong with Beverly, I know it,”_ He communicates telepathically, and Eddie frowns at the statement, because he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t. They all felt uneasy that Beverly wasn’t with them, especially now. She had promised she’d be there, and while she was known to be late or to skip…

it was unlikely that she would when something so important was happening.

_“What do you want to do?”_ Mike asks with a soft voice, still in Bill’s head. They were all linked up right now, it was almost a sense of comfort for them. Bill looks terribly lost, glancing at each of the Losers who were also looking back at him with equal concern. Bill deflates a bit, sitting down on the edge of the arm rest.

He was fiddling with his fingers, a nervous tick. _“I don’t know guys, I just know that it feels wrong to not have her here.”_ Bill speaks, and Stan nods knowingly. They were all feeling it, and they didn’t know if that was their connection as Supers or just a feeling unrelated to their powers.

Not like that mattered right now, all that mattered was that Beverly wasn’t with them and that that didn’t feel right. But at the same time, they had promised Becky they’d stay here, together and out of sight. They had no idea if the Lab had spies, or if they had agents who would act if the Lab called for it.

Outside was more dangerous than inside.

And yet, that was _exactly_ why they had to check up on Beverly.

_“We should go and check on her,”_ Stan speaks up for Bill, and the boy sends him a grateful look. But it was clear to all of them, Bill would’ve gone even without their approval.

_“We can’t just all go,”_ Eddie rightfully points out, and he glances at Georgie and Bill’s parents, sitting on the other side of the room. They knew Georgie could feel their emotions, but he didn’t show it, maybe too nervous himself. But they couldn’t just leave them alone either, in case something were to happen.

Bill sighs, still slightly jittery but visibly calming down. _“You’re right,”_ Bill acknowledges, glancing around the room. _“Okay Richie, Eddie and Ben you stay here, Stan and mike, you’re with me.”_ He speaks up, and Riche frowns a little bit, glancing at Eddie and Ben for a moment as Bill spoke.

It made sense as well. Bill was going to find Beverly of course, and Ben was still figuring out his powers the most, it was best for him to not go out if he could help it. And Richie was, despite him trying to deny it, healing. He was the best fighter but he still wasn’t 100% okay, and maybe that was also why Bill wanted to keep him home.

And nobody could ignore the bond Eddie and Richie had already seemed to build up in the last 3 weeks.

_“Keep in contact, and stay safe.”_ Bill murmurs, crouching down and hugging Georgie quickly but tightly. _“I’ll be back, okay?”_ Georgie sniffles, reaching out with his shaky hand and brushing away a stray tear going down Bill’s cheek. The older boy let’s out a shaky laugh, smiling at his younger brother.

He glances past him, landing on Richie’s face. _“If something happens, watch over him_. _”_ He instructs, only talking to Richie right now. The curly haired boy’s face was stoic, and he stepped forwards, putting a gentle hand on Georgie’s shoulders. He just nodded, but it was all Bill needed right now.

Richie pulled Georgie back gently, and the younger boy whimpered but instead latched around Richie’s side, watching as Bill leaves.

“Come on,” Richie whispers softly, shutting the door and gently pulling Georgie back towards the living room.

“I know it’s hard, but it’s going to be okay, you guys are strong.” Zack murmurs, but even Richie could see that he wasn’t entirely sure himself, a linger of doubt in his voice. Of course it wasn’t easy to see your own son leave out of the door when they knew what could possibly be out there for them.

Sharon sighs, standing up. “I’m going to make some food for you guys,” She says, because they all understood that she needed to keep herself busy. “And I’m going to get you some new medicine Richie.” She adds, and Richie frowns, shaking his head.

“I’m not taking medicine now,” He says, and Sharon looks at him with a puzzled look.

“Richie you’re still healing.” Sharon tries to argue.

“The meds make me sleepy, and I need to be awake if something happens.” Richie says softly, glancing at the rest of the remaining Losers but eventually settled on Georgie, and they all understood why. Sharon bit her lip for a moment, but she eventually nods, albeit still reluctantly.

“Let me at least check on your wounds,” She says with a soft voice, and Richie huffs out a breath at that but didn’t complain, which Sharon smiled at. So Sharon disappeared towards the kitchen to make some food as the other three Losers sat down, Georgie climbing against Richie’s side.

They were silent as Sharon rummaged in the kitchen, but it was a comfortable silence.

Eventually Sharon walks back into the room, putting the food on the table before moving towards the couch and sitting down next to Richie. Georgie glances at his mother as she tugs at Richie’s shirt to reveal his side. The younger boy makes a low sound in the back of his throat at the sight.

Nobody could deny that it wasn’t healing, because it was, it was healing well and nicely. But the stitches were still in, and the wound was still relatively fresh.

Sharon reaches out gently, putting two fingers against the bruises on Richie’s ribs and pressing softly. Richie hisses at the pain but stills in place.

“You know Richie,” Sharon starts softly, lifting her head for a moment to glance at Richie. “Zack and I talked about _after_ , what would happen.” Richie glances at her, a slight frown on his face.

“After what?” He asks, cringing slightly as Sharon presses on his bruised ribs again.

“After the lab is gone, and you’re all safe again.” She explains, looking at Zack for a moment. “And obviously you need somewhere to-”

She didn’t get time to finish her sentence. There was a loud bang, an explosion outside before someone suddenly appeared out of thin air. Sharon cried out in surprise, and the person, a boy that couldn’t be much older than Richie was, reached out for Georgie’s arm, pulling him off the couch.

Georgie stumbled, crying out as well, and Richie moved without thinking, latching onto Georgie’s wrist.

And then he was gone. Richie felt his stomach lurch and suddenly he was outside, staring at Bill’s house. Richie’s eyes widened and he could hear the boy curse next to him, pulling at Georgie but Richie refused to let go.

“You’re a teleporter,” Richie sneers, glaring at the boy. The boy, or maybe even man, was glaring right back at him. There was just a second where they were both too shocked to move, but then Richie sucked in a breath, shooting at the boy. Immediately the boy let go of Georgie, disappearing.

There was a spark, and Richie could barely notice it before it exploded, right where the boy had just been standing.

Georgie screams at the sound but luckily Richie’s attack took most of the brunt of the explosion. Richie shivered at the power, and he knew, he instantly knew that this boy was from the Lab, and he was here to kill Georgie, and then him. And maybe Georgie would have been taken as bait.

“Richie behind you!” Eddie suddenly screamed, and before Richie could turn around a gush of wind was headed towards him. Richie whirled around, just in time to see the boy stumble as Eddie’s attack hit, and he teleported out, _shit_. Richie sucked in another breath, shooting at the spot just seconds before the explosion went off.

“What the fuck!” Eddie cried out, but Richie was already whirling around, trying to see where the boy had gone.

“He can teleport!” Richie shouts back, attacking as the boy reappeared again. Richie grit his teeth as the boy teleported, standing at the edge of the forest and watching him with an intense glare. Richie knew they had to come up with something, the boy was toying with them right now.

He could just teleport out of the way every time Richie attacked, and the explosions just gave the boy an insane advantage over them. They needed to distract him.

“Eddie!” Richie yells, just as the boy teleported right in front of him, something connects with his face and he cries out in pain, head snapping back. But he refuses to let go of Georgie. He understood that the teleporter would teleport everything he touched, that’s what his plan was probably.

Take Georgie and teleport him away, but not when Richie was holding onto Georgie.

Richie sucked in another breath, attacking blindly. He grunted as the spot where the boy just was exploded, forcing him to stumble backwards. Georgie whimpered next to him. Richie frantically turned to Eddie, seeing the boy appear in front of him as well. Eddie glared, launching an attack at the boy.

This time the boy wasn’t fast enough, and he cried out as he was hit in the face. His hands immediately flew to his eyes, crying out in pain and squeezing his eyes shut. He stumbled back, creating space between him and Eddie and for a moment he didn’t teleport, just a few seconds of confusion.

Then the boy blinked his eyes open, whirling his head around to look at the edge of the forest before disappearing again. Eddie attacked again as the ground exploded, grunting with the effort. But Richie understood now.

“Eddie get Ben here.” Richie ordered.

“What?” He snaps, eyes focused on the boy just like Richie.

“Just do it Eddie!” Richie retorts. “Make him do his shit.” And maybe it was the tone in Richie’s voice that convinced Eddie, but the shorter boy quickly turned around, sprinting back into the house. Richie didn’t take his eyes off the boy, but Eddie’s attack had halted him for a few moments.

But quickly enough he jumped again, appearing at his side. Richie whirled around, unleashing an attack immediately. The boy jumped again, and the explosion was caught with his powers. He felt a gush of wind to his right and he snapped his neck towards Georgie, seeing the boy holding _his_ little brother.

Then he jumped again, and he was suddenly further away from the house. An explosion sounded, but it wasn’t even far away, only proving Richie’s theory even more.

“Just fucking let go!” The boy sneered, and Richie glared, launching another attack. The boy jumped, and so did he, suddenly appearing closer to the house again. Georgie growled low in his throat, and his eyes suddenly lit up, anger all too evident.

“Let go,” He sneered lowly, and the boy blinked a couple of times, shuddering harshly and tears jumping into his eyes. He stumbled back, but before Richie could attack, he already jumped again. He knew what happened, Georgie had used his powers, forced him to feel overwhelming sadness.

It wasn’t enough to defeat him, but at least he had finally let go of Georgie.

Richie pushed Georgie behind him, attack barely fast enough to shield themselves from the explosion. But the boy was quick to recover, and Richie yells as he suddenly appeared right in front of him, he struck out before Richie could even react, hitting him in the ribs, his _healing_ ribs.

Richie cried out in pain, throat closing up, and he knew that he wouldn’t be quick enough to attack when the boy jumped. He whirled around, shielding Georgie as he waiting for the inevitable explosion, but it never came. The boy suddenly chokes a bit, a low whine leaving his throat.

“Fuck, Richie!” Eddie shouts, running up to him. Richie struggles to stand up, looking at the boy. His eyes were now white, literally white, and Richie whirled around to see Ben standing close by, a look of concentration on his face. The boy was _gone_ , probably on the beach right now, which meant he couldn’t see.

And without the ability to see, he couldn’t transport.

Richie wheezed in a breath, clutching at his chest as he stumbled towards the boy. He grabbed the side of his head, leaning close to his ear and then he let out a low screeching sound, right into the ear canal. The boy screamed, blindly throwing his hands around to get away from the sound.

It only lasted a few seconds before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he crumbled to the floor.

“Holy shit,” Eddie curses, and Richie whirls around to look at him. He was shaking slightly but before he could say anything, Sharon and Zack rushed out.

“Richie, Georgie!” Sharon yells out, and Richie tries to hide a flinch as Sharon fussed over both of them. “You’re bleeding.” She gasps, putting a hand on either side of his face and looking at his nose. Richie’s face crunches up slightly and he brings up a hand to wipe at the blood, grimacing at the liquid.

“I’m fine, we need to move quickly,” Richie muttered, pulling away from Sharon’s grip.

“Where to?” Georgie whispers softly, and Richie’s face falls, a hesitant look on his face. But he couldn’t answer anyways as Zack’s phone suddenly started ringing. Everyone jumped a bit, but Zack quickly put the phone against his ear. There was a shout from the other side, desperate and quick.

Zack’s eyes widen, and he motions for everyone to get closer as he puts the phone on loudspeaker. “They got Beverly!” Is the first thing they hear, and Richie freezes, rushing over to Zack.

“What?” Richie barks, feeling panic creep on him.

“We got to her h-house and then she was gone.” Bill yelled, panic all too evident in his voice. “There was b-blood on the wall, it said ‘Quarry’.”

“It’s a trap Bill,” Richie frowns and Bill huffs on the other side.

“We know it’s a trap Richie, that’s pretty clear,” Stan’s voice cut in.

“But we can’t just l-lea.. we can’t just leave Beverly alone.” Bill adds and Richie sighs, because he knew they were right.

“Okay we’ll meet you there, but we need to get your parents and Georgie somewhere safe first,”

“What happened?” Bill was immediately on edge, Richie could feel it. Richie sniffles, wiping away the blood that trailed down his face before glancing at Georgie.

“Someone ambushed us, tried to take Georgie away. I think he knew we’d be gone,”

“It was Moose Sadler,” Eddie adds with a grave voice, glancing at Richie. “A friend of Henry Bowers, he used to bully us before he dropped out of high school.” He quickly explains and Richie nods, turning back to the phone.

“Get him to my parents,” Stan suddenly says, and Eddie frowns.

“Stan are you sure?” He asks, and Richie understood why he did that. Because right now they couldn’t just bring them there without having to explain what was going on, or at least, without making his parents suspicious enough to ask questions. And Stan knew this, of course he knew what it meant.

“Just do it, we have to get to Beverly now.” Stan says, voice firm and he was sure.

“Stay safe.” Eddie murmurs before the line disconnected. Eddie looks up at Bill’s parents. “Okay let’s go.”

*

*

*

“Shit there are so many,” Eddie hisses as he glances in front of him. They were still hidden from view, standing close to the edge of the quarry. with the rest of the Losers standing further away from them. Richie didn’t know who the people were, but he knew enough to see they were the bad guys.

One of the guys, a boy with a cap and heavily build, was holding Beverly tightly, her face scrunching up from pain.

They were on the edge of the cliff, no doubt threatening to throw Beverly over if the Losers got too close. There was a boy with icy blond hair standing beside them, icy smoke coming out of his hands and Richie glances at the water below the quarry, and he could see it frozen solid.

_A fall from that height would kill Beverly_.

Richie winces slightly as he feels Bill’s power prod at his mind, but he allowed him to link them up.

_“What do we do?”_ Bill asks, and Richie cringes at that, not liking that _he_ had to take charge again, but he also understood why they all did that. Richie scans the area, eyes narrowing.

“ _We have to attack, all at once,”_

_“Yes because that’s a great idea,”_ Eddie murmurs, and Richie glares at him.

_“Well do you have a better one?”_ He snaps.

_“How about we hurry up?”_ Beverly growls. _“I don’t want to find out if I’m strong enough to melt that fucking ice.”_ Richie nods, turning back towards the scene in front of him.

“Hands up Losers, or she goes flying.” One of the boys sneer, and Beverly growls as she was shaken, pain increasing on her face.

_“Richie?”_ Bill sounded more urgent, still glaring at the boy, and Richie guessed this was probably Henry, the only one with the mullet at the back of his neck. Richie scans the rest of the guys, his brain racking as he tries to remember all the descriptions he had been given a week ago.

The one next to Beverly was Henry, and Belch was holding Beverly. The blond guy with the ice powers was Victor, or Vic. And besides them were two other boys, the one with spiky jet black hair; Peter Gordon, and next to him was a boy with a shaved head, which had to be Gard Jagemeyer.

_“Ben I need you to take Belch somewhere, I don’t care where as long as something scary or dangerous is behind him,”_ Richie speaks up, and Ben immediately understood that they just needed Belch to get further away from the ledge. _“Bill, make them feel pain, and Mike, I want you to shield Beverly. Bev, I need you to be ready to attack when Ben does.”_

_“I can do that,”_ Beverly retorts, her eyes still fixed on Bill in front of him, instead of Richie, Eddie and Ben.

_“Could be worse of a plan,”_ Stan mutters, but there was a silent agreement amongst the Losers, and they shifted slightly, all getting ready for the inevitable attack.

_“Okay, Mike.”_ Richie silently commanded, and Mike doesn’t visibly react, only forced the shield outwards to wrap around Beverly. There was only a confirmation from Beverly, showing that she was ready before everyone moved. Ben was the first one, eyes lightening up and suddenly Belch cries out, stumbling forwards.

Bill shuddered with power, causing everyone to scream in pain and then Richie moved. He jumped from his hiding spot, ignoring the pain still radiating through him and sprinting towards Beverly, even if he knew she could handle herself. She growls, ripping out of Belch’s grip and blasting fire at Vic, who was closest.

Richie allowed his power to wash over him, shooting out red rings, forcing it towards the Bowers gang.

“It’s the fuckin’ Losers!” Henry yells, just before Patrick moved. Richie almost stills as black smoke emitted from Patrick’s hands, blocking Richie’s attack. Mike came running quickly as well, jumping directly towards Beverly. Richie didn’t pay attention to them, only focusing on attacking again.

Patrick smirked at him, actually fucking smirked. As if there was something so funny about the attack, and Richie had no clue what was so funny.

“So this is the great Richie Tozier,” Patrick mused, eyes roaming up and down and smirking even more. “They never told us you were such a scrawny four-eyes.”

“Probably too embarrassed that a scrawny four-eyes broke out and beat them,” Richie snaps back, and Patrick chuckles at that.

“Just a setback Doll, why do you think we’re here?” Richie could feel adrenaline thrumming in his veins, heart hammering as he waited, waited for someone to make the first move.

“To get your mom off when your dad can’t?” Richie snorts, and Patrick doesn’t even falter at the insult, seemingly unbothered. And Richie didn’t know if Patrick was just skilled in hiding what he felt, or he was truly just unbothered.

“To kill you,” And Richie was almost glad Patrick attacked. He could almost slap himself for the thought, but the anticipation was killing him, his body shaking and he could finally move. Black smoke shot out of Patrick’s hands and Richie sucked in a sharp breath, allowing his body to shudder with power.

He pulled, before emitting a low screeching sound. The attack hit the black smoke dead-on, forcing it back. Patrick stumbled for a moment, eyes narrowing before the same insane grin was pulled back on his face and he attacked again. Black smoke flew towards him, and Richie moved without thinking.

Red rings flew from his mouth, and he jumped out of the way, rolling over the ground and sending another attack close to the ground. It surged across the field, and Patrick was just fast enough to pull the smoke to block the attack before it hit his ankles. Patrick cackles at the attack.

“I almost feel bad for you Doll, you trained for 8 years and yet I’m here, beating you,” Patrick gloats, and Richie winces slightly. “Oh I’ve seen where they kept you, I saw what they did, I must say I liked the silence room the most.” Richie grit his teeth, shaking on the spot slightly as Patrick continued his taunts.

“You don’t know a fucking thing Patrick,” Richie growls, and Patrick raises an eyebrow.

“Are you scared doll? Scared to go back there?” Patrick says, a sickening joyful tone in his voice. “You don’t have to worry about that, you’re not going back to the Lab.”

“As if I don’t know you’re here to kill me,” Richie sneers, but he could feel his stomach turn.

“I told you already didn’t I?” Patrick muses, grinning again. “But no, killing you now would be just too easy. I want to see you suffer.” Patrick attacked again, shooting more smoke straight towards him. Richie wasn’t quick enough, and it knocked right into his chest. Fire erupted from within, and Richie was thrown backwards.

Richie bit back a scream, falling on his back. His eyes widen, seeing the black smoke coming straight at him. He dropped his head to the left, sucking in a breath and letting it loose to force himself to slide backwards on the ground. He winces, feeling the dirt cut into his left arm but his eyes were only focused on the spot he had just been in.

Black smoke slammed into the ground, cracking it open.

Richie just rolled with the movement, stumbling to his feet and attacking again. He attacked multiple times, jumping way and attacking from another spot. Patrick moved quickly, pulling the smoke around him to block every attack. There were small grunts, and Richie could see him stumbling ever so slightly at the attacks.

_“Richie look out!”_ He suddenly heard Bill yell in his head, but it was too late.

“Aargh!” Richie cried out as something slashed through his back, but he could barely register the pain. He twisted around, feet moving before his brain could even fully register it and he attacked. Henry was standing behind him, fingers elongated and sharp knives at the end of each one, three now dripping blood.

Henry yelled out, throwing his arms up as an attack surged towards him. Richie shot again, at the ground this time to force himself backwards. He flew through the air, eyes still focused on both Henry and Patrick. Richie landed harshly, and he winces. He could feel blood soaking the back of his shirt but he pushed that away, scanning the battle field.

The first thing he noticed was Eddie lying on the ground, stomach down and eyes closed. His initially white shirt was stained with blood, and there was a spot of blood on the back of his head. It was clear he had been fighting Henry, but the older boy had been too strong, and Richie could feel his stomach turn painfully at the thought.

Stan and Bill were fighting Belch and Peter, but they were both struggling as well. Beverly was fighting against Vic, she had some bruises and cuts, and a gnarly bruise blossoming around her throat, but she seemed to be doing the best. And Ben and Mike were fighting Gard.

Richie could barely pull his eyes back before Henry attacked again. Richie cried out in surprise, attacking again to force Henry back. Henry ducked out of the way after he was hit, grunting lowly and glaring at him. Instead he threw his arm towards him, and three of the knives attached to his fingers flew at him.

Richie immediately forced his power to leave him again, catching the knives before they hit him. New knives shot from Henry’s fingers, and he attacked again. Richie caught them, ducking out of the way of another attack before he attacked Henry. The ground rumbled as a similar red ring flew through the air.

He had no time to see if the attack hit, head snapping back to Patrick but he was already too late.

Black smoke wrapped around him, and he cried out as it entered his mouth, his nose, his eyes, his ears and suddenly it was as if gravity had left him. He stumbled, crying out again as his world went dark. He had no feeling of falling, no feeling of _anything_. He could feel panic settle in his stomach.

Overwhelming panic. He couldn’t even feel himself stumble, couldn’t feel hands on the ground. Was he standing? Sitting? He couldn’t.. he didn’t know. His brain whirled, and it was like gravity wasn’t there anymore and he was floating in an emptiness.

Panic burst, and he opened his mouth to cry out, scream, beg, but nothing came out. He could hear nothing, not even his own muted attempts at speaking. There was no smell, no sounds. He couldn’t even hear his own breathing, was he still breathing? He wanted to sob, flashes going through his mind.

He was back, back in that room. He wanted to move, but he felt nothing, not even his own arms attached to his body, couldn’t feel his leg, couldn’t feel anything. There was no weight on his head, no headphones covering his ears, and yet he couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t say anything, couldn’t _feel_.

Just nothingness.

*

*

*

Eddie had no idea what the fuck had happened, but when he blinked his eyes open he could feel pain… just overwhelming pain rushing through his body, radiating from his chest. He blinks a couple of times, and only then does he seem to realise the blood he’s lying in, soaking his shirt.

He wants to cry at the thought, but he can’t even think about crying, whipping his head up.

_The fight!_

It was as if he suddenly remembered where he was, and what had happened. And he immediately scrambles upwards, pushing down the pain he was feeling. He didn’t allow himself to stop for even a second, eyes darting around the scene in front of him, and he could feel his stomach lurch at the sight.

Black smoke was entering Richie’s body from everywhere, going into his eyes, his ears, his nose. He was trembling, veins black as coal spreading across his arms and legs. Tears were streaming down his face but he just seemed to be _gone_. Standing there like a ghost.

_“Eddie what is happening?”_ Bill cries out in his head, and for a moment Eddie can just stare in horror. Everyone except Richie was fighting another battle, too far away from them. Eddie had no idea how that had happened.

_“I don’t know!”_ Eddie cries out in panic.

_“I can’t hear him anymore Eddie, I can’t hear Richie… it’s like he’s-”_ Eddie didn’t let Bill finish, wouldn’t even listen even if he was able to. But Henry was walking over to Richie _fast_ , claws raised. Eddie’s eyes widened, and before he knew it he could feel the core in his lungs seize, almost light up.

He growled, and he was pulling before he knew it.

Wind whipped around him, and he swung around. The wind roared around him, and he watched with glaring eyes as it pulled at Henry. The older boy yells, swiping blindly with his claws. And Eddie didn’t know what was worse, the claws cutting into Richie’s chest, near his throat…

… Or that Richie didn’t even flinch at the attack.

All Eddie knew that he saw _red_. He yelled, letting out a roar that didn’t even sound like him. He felt wind rush around him, hair whipping in every direction and he felt his eyes flash up. The same way Richie’s eyes would always light up red if he got too mad, or if he was using too much power.

Henry blinked, and for a moment a look of fear overcame him, and Henry threw his arm around. Knives flew at Eddie, but it was as if someone else had taken over his body, and he pulled at his core again. Wind circled around him, and he caught the knives, spinning them around and firing them back at Henry again.

Henry’s eyes widened, jumping out of the way. Eddie charged quickly, running at Henry. He pulled at his core, feeling wind rage around him, and he practically _flew_ towards Henry, dust and dirt whirling around and up into the air behind him. He struck, sending a blast of air towards Henry.

The boy wasn’t quick enough to dodge, and the air struck him in the chest.

Henry let out a yell of pain, crashing into the ground. There was a moment of hesitation from Henry, and even Patrick was watching warily, even if he hid it behind that stupid fucking smirk of his. Eddie didn’t pay attention to him, eyes only on Henry, who was now looking back at him with a fearful expression.

Until his eyes landed on another figure.

Richie had tumbled over when Eddie attacked, when he pulled Henry away from Richie and no doubt saved him from getting his throat slashed. But he was still _there_ , Patrick forcing smoke into him, and Richie unresponsive on the ground. And Eddie and Henry both knew how much Richie meant to Eddie.

A sickening smile spread across the older boy’s face, and Eddie didn’t wait, bolting from the spot and towards Henry again. The other boy moved, his movement hasty as he stabbed Richie’s left leg.

“Stay back or-” Henry started yelling but Eddie didn’t listen. He flew towards Henry, allowing the wind to carry him and he knocked straight into Henry. The boy immediately crumbled to the ground, and Eddie pounded, jumping high up in the air before sending a powerful gush of wind towards the fallen boy, slamming him into the ground. 

He didn’t care about the bones he heard breaking.

He hurt Richie.. he hurt-

Eddie whirled around, glaring towards Patrick. And for the first time, Patrick showed real fear towards them, towards Eddie. But the younger boy was too fucking furious to gloat about the fact that he made Patrick fear him, he couldn’t even care less about it even if he tried, that didn’t matter right now.

He roared, bolting from his spot and flying at Patrick. The older boy’s eyes widened, and the smoke cut off, and he threw it at Eddie, forming a large shield. But Eddie was having none of it, twirling in the air and wrapping the air around himself. He rolled over the ground, watching the black smoke fly everywhere, away from both of them.

But Patrick was fast, sending another attack towards Eddie and he felt it hit his chest dead-on.

Eddie wheezed, forced back a few steps at the sheer force but he didn’t stop, refused to stop. He had no idea how he looked, but he just knew he was angry, eyes blazing with anger, glaring at Patrick. He drew at his core again, and wind was building up before he let loose.

Wind flew at Patrick, and the boy couldn’t act fast enough to dodge, and it hit him straight on. But Eddie didn’t wait, bolting towards Patrick and then he pulled. He could feel the wind around him, could feel it in his lungs, could feel it entering Richie’s lungs, in and out, in and out.

Eddie narrowed his eyes, _and he could feel it in Patrick’s lungs_.

He pulled at the air, and Patrick’s eyes widened in fear the moment he realised what Eddie was doing. Patrick’s hands flew forwards, smoke emitting from them but Eddie snarled, pulling harder and Patrick’s hands recoiled, going towards his neck immediately, clutching at it with desperate eyes.

He fell to his knees, more air leaving his body.

Eddie seethed. “You hurt the wrong fucking Loser!”

And he pulled more.

*

*

*

It seemed to last for hours, but suddenly his sense attacked again. He could feel his throat hurting, and he winces at the feeling. Tears were cascading down his cheeks, but for a moment he couldn’t do anything. His mind was working overtime, trying to make sense of what the hell was happening.

He blinked, staring at the grass beneath him, and he noticed he was laying on the ground, stomach on the ground. He spluttered, wincing at the pain in his throat. Had he been screaming?

“You hurt the wrong fucking Loser!” He suddenly heard someone rage, and Richie shuddered, forcing himself to look up. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight. Eddie was standing in front of Patrick, close, _too_ close, to the edge. Patrick was on his knees and clutching his neck and Eddie’s eyes were absolutely fuming.

His fingers twitched, drawing more and more air out of Patrick’s lungs. And he gave no indication of stopping.

Blood was staining his shirt, five gashes across his chest that ripped his shirt, and were now leaking blood. He looked bad, and it was obvious he was running on pure adrenaline right now. Richie winces, bringing his hand up to his throat. His fingers felt wet, and his eyes widened as he brought his hand back.

He wasn’t surprised at all, and yet he could do nothing but stare at his bloody fingers for a moment, and slowly he could see Henry lying next to him, also unconscious. There was an alarming amount of blood on his hands, and slowly, Richie could feel pain worsening in his left leg.

“Eddie!” Richie rasped, scrambling to his feet. And Eddie snapped his head towards him, relief washing over his features and Patrick’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground. Eddie stumbled, wincing in pain. “Holy shit Eds, that was…” Richie couldn’t seem to find the words.

Eddie’s eyes scanned him, worry replacing the relief.

_“Shit Richie, Eddie, are you two alright?”_ Bill reaches out, and Richie winces slightly, turning around to look at the rest. Bill was staring at them with wide eyes, but the battle was still going on. Victor was down, burns littering his body and clearly unconscious against one of the trees.

But Mike was down as well, leaving Bill, Beverly, Stan and Ben to fight Belch, Peter and Gard. Both sides were injured, and Richie could see Stan’s head coated with blood, and-

“Richie loo- AARH!” Richie snapped his head back, staring wide eyed at Eddie’s form. The smaller boy was laying on his side, cradling his arm, laying between Patrick and him, _shielding him_. Patrick was standing on top of him, stumbling slightly and wheezing audibly. Black smoke trailed from Patrick’s hands.

“Eddie!” Richie screams, or at least, tries to. He cries out as his chest restricted, Eddie’s name scrambled. Pain blossomed through him, and he was running before he could stop himself. He didn’t care about the ledge, but he just jumped, tackling Patrick. Both of them grunted, and they went tumbling.

Richie’s mind whirled, and it happened too quick for him to process, but the next thing he knew was tumbling over the edge of the ledge. He couldn’t even cry out, ribs not allowing him to but he scrambles, hands reaching out for _anything_. And he could almost cry in relief as his hand found something.

He cries out as he feels a weight on his ankle and he looks down with wide eyes to see Patrick holding on for dear life. His eyes widen, and he looks up to see himself holding onto Eddie’s ankle. Eddie was partially over the edge, upper body clinging to the edge, the only reason they weren’t falling.

Richie groans. “Let go you waste of space,” He groans, kicking at Patrick but his free leg screamed at him, refusing to move.

“Richie!” Eddie chokes in panic, sliding downwards a bit at the movement. _“Guys help!”_ Eddie’s voice was desperate, fear all too evident in his voice. He was crying, pain shooting through his arm and he could see it visibly broken in front of him, useless as he tried to prevent from falling.

_“Hold on guys!”_ Stan responds, and Eddie’s eyes widen as he locks eyes with the curly haired boy. Stan was rushing over to him but before Stan could only get half-way before the ground rumbled, splitting open right before Stan’s feet. The curly haired boy cries out, stumbling back and barely able to evade another attack.

But it was clear to Eddie; _Stan wasn’t coming_ , and he felt himself slipping more.

More tears leaked from his eyes, and he desperately tried to hold on, knowing that he would kill both Richie and himself with the fall. But if nobody came soon, he knew that he would fall, and Richie knew that as well, and so did Patrick.

“Eddie,” Richie whispers, but Eddie glares down.

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Eddie snaps, ignoring how the tears seemed to burn down his cheeks. Richie was looking up at him with tears glistering, a fearful yet determined expression on his face. _“Just hold on Richie, please.”_ Eddie pleaded.

_“Listen to him Richie, I’m coming!”_ Bev shouted in their heads, and Eddie looks up to see Beverly sprinting towards them, Bill close behind him. Eddie could hold on, he could hold on.. he had to. Richie wanted to believe him, he really did, and maybe he would’ve been able to do so.

But Patrick had other plans. A weird look crosses his features before black smoke is emitted from his hands. Richie shivers as the smoke circles his ankle, whimpering in the back of his throat as the smoke squeezed around it. Eddie’s head snaps downwards at the sound, eyes widening at the sight.

But Patrick forced the smoke upwards, towards Eddie.

“What are you doing?!” Eddie cries out, and Patrick cackles, actually fucking cackled.

“Killing four-eyes,” Patrick sneers. “And I’m taking you with us.” He says, and the smoke travels upwards, towards Eddie. Richie’s eyes widen painfully.

“Eddie,” He tries again.

“Don’t do it,” Eddie chokes, pleading, but Richie had made up his mind, he smiles softly, even if there was clear fear on his face.

“Thank you,” He could barely squeeze the words past his throat before he let’s go of Eddie’s ankle. The feeling of gravity taking over comes too quickly, and Richie’s head swirls as he suddenly falls.

“Fuck!” Patrick cries out, and the older boy was pulling him downwards, black smoke flying everywhere and falling too quickly for Patrick to control. But he still wouldn’t let go of him. Richie felt the hand around his ankle tighten painfully, and Richie twisted around, sucking in a deep breath before letting loose.

Patrick had no way to defend himself, but Richie didn’t particularly care, kicking Patrick’s still body away with the last of his strength and twisting himself one last time so that he was facing down. The ice was rapidly approaching, but he didn’t have time to panic at all, could only act.

He inhales sharply, unleashing the attack and forcing as much power into it as possible. Ice quickly broke apart, the noise loud and almost making Richie wince, but before he knew it;

He hit the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof... that was long. This was probably the chapter I was both looking forwards to the most, and the one I was dreading the most. But I hope it turned out okay-ish! Let me know your thoughts!  
> One more chapter after this and then the epilogue (that is split in two parts cause it was getting so darn long... so does it still count as an epilogue...?? Oh well)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a busy couple of times ugh, but I hope you guys don't mind that this chapter is a day later than normal! 
> 
> After this there's only the epilogue, that has been split in two parts!

Eddie was watching, ignoring the pain radiating through his body and especially his broken arm. But he could only stare at Beverly sprinting towards him, focusing on just holding on for just a few moments. Only 30 seconds, maybe less, it would be okay if Beverley got here, she would help.

Richie whimpered below him, and Eddie snaps his head downwards. 24 seconds… Richie was staring down, and Eddie could see what he was looking at, the black smoke coming from Patrick’s hands. Eddie recognised the black smoke from the boy, has seen it all too well just moments ago.

When he had woken up, only to see Richie crying and screaming on the ground, Patrick standing over him and forcing the black smoke stay inside him. Richie had no control over his limbs, he could see how it was affecting him. 19 seconds.

And right now it was heading straight towards him.

“What are you doing?!” He could hear himself cry out, feeling a shiver run through him as the smoke circled his ankles, but still travelled upwards.

“Killing four-eyes,” And Eddie knew Patrick was talking about Richie. “And I’m taking you with us.” He says, and Eddie could feel the smoke coming closer and closer, almost in slow-motion.

“Eddie,” Richie calls out, and Eddie almost reluctantly locks eyes with the boy.

“Don’t do it,” Eddie pleads, throat closing up and voice low, but even as he said it, he could see that Richie had already made the decision. 7 seconds.

“Thank you,” Eddie almost couldn’t hear it, and he wasn’t sure if he even _wanted_ to hear it. And then Richie was falling.

“Fuck!” Patrick cries out, and the older boy was pulling Richie downwards, black smoke flying everywhere and falling too quickly for Patrick to control. Eddie could only scream, watching as Richie struggled with Patrick as they both fell down, and Richie attacked, red rings travelling straight towards Patrick.

And only seconds later he attacked the ice. Eddie could feel himself becoming nauseous as the ice split open in tiny pieces, flying everywhere.

“RICHIE!” Eddie screamed in panic, tears jumping in his eyes.

“Eddie!” Beverly’s panicked voice was suddenly above him, grasping at his wrist. Eddie grunted, turning back to the redhead. She was looking at him with wide eyes, instantly trying to pull Eddie up. Eddie _tried_ to help her, but his arm was still screaming at him, and he couldn’t find anything to put his feet against.

But Beverly was strong, and she managed to pull him up.

Eddie spluttered, scrambling away from the ledge immediately. “Eddie,” Beverly spoke again, and Eddie’s wide and panicked eyes whirl towards Bev. “Where is Richie?” Her voice was anxious, and despite the question, Eddie could see that Beverly knew the answer, knew where he had gone.

Beverly scrambled upwards. 

“Beverly no!” Eddie shouts, feelings tears spill from his eyes, but she was over the edge before he could stop her. Eddie sprinted after her, just fast enough to see her shoot fire out of her hands that melted the ice enough for her to plunge into the water. Eddie could feel tears spill, and he could do nothing but watch.

“Eddie!” Bill shouted, but his voice was raspy, painful. That didn’t stop him from shouting it, and running up to him. Eddie’s eyes were wide, looking as every Loser ran up to him. Stan was supporting Mike, but the boy was standing, and awake. _“Where are Richie and Bev?”_.

Eddie just stared at them, unable to stop the tears from falling as he gestured wildly behind him. _“We have to get down-”_ Eddie chokes, unable to finish the thought even.

_“Let’s go.”_ Stan ordered quickly, running before anyone could respond.

*

*

*

Beverly could see the water moving below her, could see Patrick’s body just _lying_ there on the ice, blood pooling beneath him, but Richie was nowhere in sight. And that scared her. There was a hole in the ice, water sloshing around and she knew what happened even if she happened seen it.

And she knew that she had to act fast; so she jumped.

She could immediately feel her heart jump into her stomach as gravity took over, pulling her downwards. But she couldn’t get herself to think about it too long, could only act as the ice neared, shooting out fire from her knuckles before she hit the water at an intense speed, completely going under.

She flinched violently at the change in temperature, and she could feel her core panicking, warming her all over, or at least, working overtime trying.

She gasps as she comes up to the surface, scrambling onto the ice. Her legs kick frantically behind her but she was quickly able to get on the ice, scrambling to her feet as she hurried to the only other hole in the ice. Her eyes widen, staring for a few seconds until she saw something moving under the dirty water.

She immediately dove into the water again, blindly reaching out for _anything_. She couldn’t see, the dirty water too polluted, and she had no other option than continue searching blindly. She could feel panic rising with every second that passed, but she pushed the thought of the way.

Until she _finally_ grabbed something, and she could almost scream in joy. But the panic she still felt was too overwhelming. She immediately twisted in the water, kicking her legs and she pulled the figure upwards, until she finally broke the surface of the icy water, gasping for a breath.

“Richie,” Bev groaned, glancing down at the boy. His glasses, which had miraculously survived so far, were gone, probably at the bottom of the quarry right now, and suddenly he seemed so much younger than he should be. Eyes closed and mouth partially open, a pained expression on his face.

And now Beverly did cry as she saw his chest rise.

He spluttered, coughing weakly. “Just breathe Richie,” Beverly whispered, anxiously looking at the water around them grow a vague tint of red, which either was from the dried blood being washed off Richie’s body, or that his wounds were still bleeding. Richie shuddered violently, whining in the back of his throat but still not waking.

It was then that Beverly suddenly remembered how cold the water was, and without her powers, Richie would be a lot colder…

“You have to work with me here Richie,” Beverly groaned and for a moment Richie’s eyes blinked open. Beverly turned around so she was facing the edge of the ice. Richie mumbled something incoherently, but didn’t seem to really understand what Beverly meant until she was pushing him against the edge. Richie helplessly reached out, clawing at the ice.

The other boy was whining, groaning in pain but eventually slid onto the ice.

Beverly had to almost tear her eyes away from the blood that stained the otherwise white ice, heaving herself out of the water as well. It was anything but pretty, but she honestly couldn’t care less. She pulled Richie towards her, between her legs and his back against her chest and dragging him further away from the ledge.

Richie was starting to shiver, which she took as a good sign, him not shivering would be a bad sign, but at the same time, Beverly had nothing to wrap around him. She shook her head, she didn’t need to. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, and slowly prodded, forcing her powers to work.

“Richie?” She whispers anxiously, but the boy didn’t respond apart from a shuddering breath, breathing harshly, as if Bev could hear something rattling in his chest.

_“Bev are you alright?!”_ Bill’s voice suddenly entered her mind, and Beverly looks up slowly, seeing the rest of the Losers rush towards her, Eddie immediately dropping to his knees to look at Richie. It was as if the pain in his arm was gone, temporarily replaced by the worry for Richie.

“Rich?” He murmurs softly, and the boy blinked. But Richie could only vaguely make out _someone_ being in front of him, glasses still gone. He coughed weakly, but he had no energy to move, slumping back against Beverly. The red haired girl looked down at him with worry, brushing his curls out of his face.

“What do we do?” Stan asks softly, and Bill gnaws at his lip.

_“We have to get off the ice first, we have no idea how long this ice will hold,”_ He says, and the Losers know it’s a short-term plan, but they all agreed. Bill moved forwards, crouching down next to Richie to gently pick him up. Beverly helped them stand up, guiding Richie’s arms in his lap and his head to rest on Bill’s shoulder.

Eddie glances at rest of the Losers as they carefully make their way off the ice, leaving Patrick’s lifeless body. Mike had blood trickling down the side of his head, and he was holding his wrist with a pained expression, but Eddie couldn’t see if it was broken or not, and he had to keep himself from looking at his own arm.

His mind felt hazy, almost running on auto-pilot as he trailed to the others.

Bill was bleeding as well, but instead of cuts, his body was filled with burn marks, his shirt scorched away in some places even. The worst burn seemed to be on his shoulder, and his face was stoic as he carried Richie towards a patch of grass far enough away from the ice and laying him down.

Beverly was immediately there as well, putting her arms around him again and concentrating on warming Richie up.

“We have to get home, Richie doesn’t look good,” Beverly rasps, lifting a hesitant hand to show it come off bloody. Bill opened his mouth to respond but his head snaps to the left, staring at the edge of the quarry, mouth not immediately closing. Stan frowns, nudging Bill worriedly.

_“Becky,”_ Bill breathes out, and suddenly all the Losers could feel two more minds being linked up. Bill staggered slightly, and Stan wrapped a steady arm around him. Stan looks up at the quarry, but he could only see a retreating figure for a split-second, a figure he could only guess was Bev’s aunt.

Bill turns to Stan, and the curly haired boy curses as he sees a slow trickle of blood coming out of his nose, a clear sign that he was overdoing it, they all were to be honest. Stan only needed to give Bill a look to know what he meant, and Stan winced slightly as he felt the connection being snapped.

Bill sagged against Stan, but didn’t collapse, staring at the quarry still.

“Oh thank goodness!” Becky cries out, rushing over to the Losers with James next to her. “I was so worried when I got to your house Bill, nobody was home and we could see signs of struggle, and there was this boy tied up and-” She fell silent as her eyes finally seemed to take in the appearance of all the Losers.

Richie looked undoubtedly the worst, but they all looked bad. Eddie’s arm was clearly broken, and Stan’s side of his face was scratched open, leaving bloody wounds behind, Bill had burn wounds all over him, and Mike’s head was bleeding and holding his wrist painfully and close to his chest.

Beverly’s neck was starting to bruise significantly, and Ben’s stomach seemed to be bleeding again. All of them had numerous cuts and bruises developing.

“They found us,” Eddie rasps, as if that answered all her questions.

“Henry and his gang kidnapped Beverly from her home and knocked out her father. They-”

“I knocked out my dad,” Beverly cut in, wincing slightly as her throat screamed at her to stop talking. Bev shivered at the memory, but the Losers all seemed to understand that this was all she was going to say for now.

“They … they got Beverly and left a message for us, telling us to come to the quarry,” Mike finishes. “I think they thought we’d all come, so the other boy could jump into Bill’s home and grab Georgie while he was alone.”

“Is Georgie okay?” Becky asks anxiously, and even Bill seemed to panic slightly.

“We got them to Stan’s parents,” Ben quickly adds, but that didn’t seem to calm down Bill completely. Of course he was anxious to get back, and Becky seems to understand.

“We should get you to the house, you all need to be patched up. I’ll ask Barbara to meet us,” Becky says, and the Losers nod softly. “James, can you help carry Richie?” Becky asks, and the man nods as he walks over to Richie. Beverly looks up at him almost warily, but allows James to pick up Richie.

She was a bit relieved as well, knowing that they weren’t in any shape to carry Richie that distance.

“W-What will happen to the b-b-bodies?” Bill asks, and Stan glances at him, his stutter slightly worse but neither of the Losers could blame him. Becky’s face falls slightly, no child should have to think about dead and unconscious bodies. No child should have to go through what they just went through.

“Don’t worry about that, Bill. That is our problem okay?” Becky says, and Bill frowns slightly, gaze unwillingly going to Patrick’s lifeless body before dragging it back to Richie. He sighs softly.

“Let’s go,”

*

*

*

“Oh my God Stan!” His mother cried out, rushing out of the house and barrelling into Stan almost, wrapping her arms tightly around him. “You’re okay, you’re okay.” She murmurs frantically, and Stan lifts his shaky arms, wrapping them round his mom and burying his face in her shoulder.

Andrea sniffles, reluctantly pulling away from the hug and glancing at the rest. She just wanted to hug Stan, but she could see that they had more important things to talk about right now.

“Come in,” She mutters, wiping at her tears. She knew they were coming, Barbara was already inside, and they had all been getting ready for the Losers to come in. Everyone made their way inside, and Bill’s mom immediately pulled Bill close, hugging him closely.

“Mom.” Bill whined softly, grasping at his mom and bursting in tears. His mom hiccupped, running a gentle hand through his hair.

“Chee?” A soft voice broke through the soft tears, and Bill and his mom immediately look up, staring at Georgie. but the younger boy’s gaze was fixed on Richie’s still form in James arms, tears jumping in his eyes. Bill immediately moved, barely able to grasp Georgie’s wrist before he bolted towards Richie. “Chee!” Georgie cried out again.

Sharon sniffles as well, but quickly regained her composure. “Get him on the couch.” She orders, and James nods silently, laying Richie down on the couch. The younger boy let out a groan of pain, but he still didn’t wake up. Sharon took a deep breath, glancing around the room with worried eyes.

She could see they all needed medical attention, and she knew they couldn’t exactly go to the hospital either. So Sharon bit her lip, silently assessing the situation before getting to work. Barbara would use her powers to see what was wrong with all the Losers, and help her patch them up.

Richie was their top priority right now, and while Sharon and Barbara were stitching him up, the rest of the Losers were helping each other out.

Andrea got all the ice she could find to help Eddie’s arm until either Barbara or Sharon could snap it back in place. Mike’s wrist was iced as well, while Donald checked out the head wound. But it had already stopped bleeding, and Barbara had assured it didn’t need stitches and wasn’t anything serious.

A slight concussion, meaning Mike had to be careful for a while to let it heal.

Georgie was helping Bill with his wounds, treating the burns like mom had always told them they needed to treat burn wounds, and with a little help from Bill himself. Georgie didn’t mind helping, and it gave him something to concentrate on when he was still obviously worried about Richie’s wellbeing.

Andrea was cleaning the wounds on the side of Stan’s face, bandaging them carefully. The two were silent, but neither of them minded for now. Bill’s parents had of course filled in Stan’s parents about what was going on, and while they had a lot of questions, they understood enough for now.

James had disappeared quickly to take care of the Bower’s gang quickly, leaving Bill’s father to help with Ben’s wounds. Beverly had sat down next to Eddie as they silently kept each other company. Beverly couldn’t help but tear up eventually, looking around the room, but not out of sadness.

Her aunt had told them about the lab, how they succeeded. They had managed to get into the building, take them all out, and the only reason they hadn’t been able to relax then was the knowledge that the Lab had just sent their first made Supers out to kill all the Losers once and for all.

But now that they were finally home, and all safe, the words of her aunt finally sunk in.

It was over, they were finally free.

*

*

*

The first thing he felt was pain, just pain slowly flowing through his body until it was engulfing his entire body. Richie whines low in his throat, limbs twitching as he feels tears try to force themselves out of his eyes. They felt heavy, and for a moment he couldn’t get himself to open his eyes.

“Richie?” A soft voice asks, and Richie winces, blinking his eyes open quickly. He immediately winces again, shutting his eyes as bright light enters his vision. “Hold on-” The voice muttered, and there were a few sounds, before the familiar clicking of the light turning off on the other side of the room.

The person walked back to his side, sitting down. “You can open your eyes if you want.” The voice murmurs, and Richie, maybe despite his better judgement, opened his eyes again, looking at Bill’s mother next to him, smiling. “There you go.” She chuckles, and for a moment Richie couldn’t seem to talk, staring at the blurry figure of Bill’s mom.

Sharon reaches out gently, carting a hand through his hair. Richie couldn’t help but melt into the touch, and for a moment he could pretend that all was well. He was 6 years old again, maybe he was sick, and his mom would come in, caring for the first time in weeks, and comfort him.

His father would be gone, and while his mom would still smell like alcohol, it would be okay for a moment.

“How are you feeling?” Sharon asks softly, and Richie reluctantly opens his eyes again, a pang of disappointment in his chest as Sharon withdraws her hand. Richie’s face scrunches up slightly, and he winces as the pain in his nose intensifies.

“Everything hurts,” Richie frowns, trying to ignore the pain in his nose for a moment. “What happened?” He asks. Everything was a flash after he let go off Eddie’s ankle, He didn’t even remember hitting the water honestly, and after that it was very hazy, short flashes of incoherent memories.

He had no idea where he was, or what happened.

“You fought the Bower’s gang, do you remember that?” Sharon asks softly, and Richie nods. He wish he could forget that honestly. “Eddie told me Beverly jumped after you, and got you out of the water, and eventually got you off the ice. That’s where Beverly’s aunt found you guys, and helped you back to Stan’s home.”

Sharon stopped for a moment, allowing Richie to process everything she was saying.

“How did Stan’s parents react?” He asks, and he didn’t have to elaborate for Sharon to understand what he was talking about.

“They took it.. surprisingly well. They were a little hurt Stan didn’t tell them but they also understood why he didn’t.” Of course they were all sceptic of telling their parents, and the last few weeks had only proven that theory even more. There were people out there wanting to kidnap them and experiment on them.

And Richie’s parents had been the one to rat him out to those people, and it gotten them killed.

“When they brought you in you were unconscious and in a bad state, Barbara and I patched you up.” Richie frowns slightly again, eyes roaming downwards as he squinted. There were cuts littering his bare arms but most of his body was hidden by the blanket that was on top of him right now.

Sharon smiles sadly. “It wasn’t too bad all things considered but you still broke your nose and cracked a few ribs. None of them hit anything bad though so you’ll be fine if you rest up. You also have some bad slashes on your back, and near your throat, and 4 stab wounds in your left leg-”

Sharon explains, and Richie lifts a hesitant hand toward his chest, letting his fingers run across the bandages that were in place. There was a slight dull pain radiating from there, but nothing too bad, and Richie had to guess they had pumped him with a lot of painkillers because of the lack of pain.

“There’s also some bad bruising around your ankle, but it’s not sprained or broken luckily.”

“What about the rest?” Richie asks softly.

“They’re fine,” Sharon immediately assures Richie. “Stan had some gashes on his face and Bill had a couple of burn wounds. Mike has a sprained wrist and a head wound, Beverly was strangled by her dad and Ben had his old wound reopened in the fight, but they’ll be fine, honestly.”

Richie felt his stomach twist. “What about Eddie?” Sharon sighs, looking down for a moment but eventually shakes her head with a tiny smile.

“The gashes on his chest were bad but we managed to stitch them up pretty quickly, although he still lost quite a lot of blood, but his arm was broken and we had to take him to the hospital to cast it,” Sharon mutters. “His mom wasn’t very happy about that, I mean I don’t think I’ve been cursed at that much in my life before.” Sharon chuckles dryly.

“Is he okay now?” Richie asks, and Sharon nods.

“He is, don’t worry. His mom kept him home for a few days, which Eddie wasn’t happy about, but she eventually let him go yesterday. But that’s only because Eddie is so stubborn if you ask me.” Richie smiles at that, unable to stop the light chuckle from leaving him.

He frowns suddenly. “Wait, what do you mean _days_?”

“You’ve been out for a couple of days Richie-”

“What?!” Richie cries out, cringing immediately as pain radiates through his body. Sharon shushes him softly, putting a gentle hand on his chest to calm him down.

“Your body was exhausted Richie, apart from your injuries, you were just exhausted from everything that had happened. I know you don’t like me pointing it out but you’re still severely underweight, and I know you haven’t been sleeping well either. I’ve heard you go downstairs in the middle of the night more than once.”

“Sorry for waking you,” Richie mumbles, face heating up slightly but Sharon waves him away.

“I’m a light sleeper Richie, Zack always wakes me up when he so much as turns around in his bed.” She chuckles, and Richie can’t help but smile slightly. “Point is, you’ve barely slept, you’re malnourished and you were injured quite badly, it’s not weird your body shut down for a few day.” She explains.

Richie nods numbly, yawning softly.

“Get some sleep Richie.” Sharon chuckles but Richie frowns.

“What happened to my glasses?” He asks. It wasn’t like he forgot he couldn’t see well, how could he when his eyesight was that bad? But in the lab he would often just wake up without his glasses, the guards knowing how helpless it made him feel, and how helpless it actually made him.

He was used to waking up with bad vision, but the glasses also weren’t near him.

“We couldn’t find them Richie, I’m sorry. You lost them in the water.” Sharon says, and Richie stares ahead of him for a few moments before shaking his head.

“No that’s okay, they just remind me of that place.” He mumbles, and he didn’t dare to look at Sharon at that.

“We wanted to give you new ones but we didn’t know your prescription and we wanted you to pick out the glasses yourself,” Sharon says, looking at Richie. He looked different without his glasses on, younger even, more childlike. And it almost startled Sharon to see him like that right now.

It reminded her that he was still a child, that he was still young; too young even.

“But I can go to the store and pick up those standard glasses for now, they won’t be the exact same prescription, but at least then you can see something until you get your own glasses.” Richie nods silently, telling her how bad his eyesight was as he was trying desperately to hide another yawn, but Sharon sees it nevertheless.

She chuckles, ruffling his hair softly. “Get some sleep Richie, we’ll still be here when you wake up, okay?” She asks, and Richie thankfully listened to her, shutting his eyes.

“Can you… stay?” He asks softly, hesitantly looking at her, even if he could barely make out her face without his glasses.

“Of course Richie.” And Richie didn’t know when she started exactly, maybe he wasn’t truly awake just yet, but he eventually fell asleep to Sharon humming softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

*

*

*

The next time he woke up there were a pair of glasses sitting next to him on the nightstand. He reaches over for them, groaning low in his throat as his injuries flared up. It was a simple pair of glasses, too clearly a cheap version but Richie didn’t care, putting them on his face and blinking a few times.

His sight was off slightly, which wasn’t weird considering his eyes didn’t have the same prescription but he could see more or less clear now.

The second thing he noticed was that he was in an unknown room, in an unknown house. He could feel a slight panic jolt through him, but before he could properly freak out, the door to the room opened, and Bill walked in. His eyes immediately landed on Richie, a smile breaking out on his face.

_“You’re awake!”_ Bill grins, and it was still weird to hear him talk without seeing his mouth move. _“Of course you’d be the one to wake up just when I was gone to the toilet._ ” He teases, walking over to him and sitting down on the chair that was next to his bed.

“Where are we?” Richie asks, rather speaking outright than in Bill’s head. Bill seemed to understand, pulling back his powers.

“My house.” He says, glancing around the room for a moment. It was slightly smaller than Bill’s room, but there was still enough space to fit a large bed, a desk and a drawer. “This used to b-be dad’s office.” He says, which only confused Richie even more, glancing around again before suddenly his eyes widen.

“Wait did they buy this for me?” Bill chuckles, nodding.

“They’ve b-been working on it while w-we were g-g-gone to train,” Bill shrugs slightly, and Richie frowns.

“Why?” He asks. “And how did we end up at your house?” Because Richie knew they had gone to Stan’s home after the battle.

“We were at Stan’s house f-first but then police called Bev’s phone. When she was kidnapped by B-Bowers, she had accidentally killed her dad before. He was trying t-t-to..” Bill sighs, shaking his head. _“He was trying to attack her and Bev defended herself._ ” He finishes in Richie’s head, and Richie didn’t need to know what ‘attack’ meant.

They all suspected something else going on with Beverly, and especially Richie after Bev and him had that conversation after his nightmare.

“There was enough e-evidence that they b-believed her but she was still a m-minor. So they called Becky,” Bill snickers dully at the memory. It was funny to see Becky pick up the phone while Bev was right next to her, pretending to be shocked as the officers told her what happened, and if she was willing to come to Derry and talk about what would happen now.

Becky didn’t need any convincing at all to take Bev in, but legally she was still living a few towns over, and they had to keep up the ruse for now. So Becky had waited a few hours before driving to the station to discuss everything.

“She’s moving to D-Derry as soon as possible, but Bev’s s-staying with Stan’s parents until then,” Bill adds.

“So how does that explain me being in your house?” He asks.

“Child p-protective services needed to make s-sure Stan’s house was safe for her.” Bill supplies, and Richie nods knowingly.

“And they can’t do that if there’s a dead and injured teenager lying unconscious in a bed,” Richie muses, and Bill frowns. 

_“Don’t call yourself dead_.” Bill scowls, but Richie simply shrugs.

“Why? It’s the truth.” He mutters, but Bill shakes his head, and for a moment it looked like he wanted to say something more but eventually opted against it. There was a short awkward silence, that was thankfully quickly broken as Richie’s stomach rumbled. Richie looks down sheepishly.

Bill chuckles at that, the silence already forgotten.

“S-should I bring food here, or d-do you want to go downstairs?” Bill asks, and Richie frowns for a moment. He was tempted to choose the latter, but then he remembered that just taking his glasses hurt like a motherfucker, and he knew Henry stabbed his leg sometime when he was attacked by Patrick’s powers.

So while he was anxious to get out of bed, he wasn’t so keen on trying to walk right now.

Bill didn’t mind at all, quickly disappearing from the room to get some food. Richie surprisingly wasn’t _that_ hungry yet, but he did still finish the plate Bill had made for him. Bill stayed with him for a little more, chatting about things that seemed very insignificant considering what they had been through.

But Richie found himself listening to Bill rattle about school and other stuff with a slight smile, and he eventually fell asleep again.

*

*

*

“Richie!” Zack almost screeches, and Richie would’ve laughed if he didn’t hurt so much. “You shouldn’t be out of bed so soon, and definitely not go down the stairs.” Zack rushes towards him, and Richie groans as Zack helps him down the last three steps of the stairs.

“Well I needed to pee, and Billiam is showering upstairs so..” Richie trails off, but Zack seemed to understand, sighing.

“Hold on to me,” He says, wrapping an arm around Richie’s waist and carefully helping him over to the toilet. Richie was biting his lip, the hand around his waist digging painfully in the fresh bruises, but at the same time he could lean on Zack for support so his leg wasn’t hurting as badly anymore.

There was no winning apparently.

After he managed to relieve his bladder, sitting down of course, Zack helped him walk over to the living room. The stairs would be too much of a hassle right now, and Richie’s body was shaking too much with pain for him to complain about it.

“Chee?” Georgie’s head lifted up, a bright smile on his face.

“Hey king George.” Richie grins, voice slightly raspy as Zack helps him lay down on the couch. Georgie rushes over to him, but was smart enough not to jump on him. “Are you okay?” He asks, because he hadn’t seen Georgie yet since the fight with the teleporter, and he had barely been awake either.

Georgie frowns slightly, and for a moment his gaze went to his arm, that was now littered with healing burn wounds, but it had already been like a month since their escape, and the wounds were healed already basically. The only thing that would happen now were the scars that would hopefully fade more.

“I’m fine silly.” Georgie smiles sadly, and Richie chuckles at that, lifting an arm up. Georgie seemed to understand immediately, climbing onto the couch and over him to lay down between Richie and the back of the couch, laying his head on Richie’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re alright.” Richie murmurs, carefully brushing his fingers through Georgie’s hair. Georgie murmured something back, but Richie couldn’t hear it as his face was hidden. But Richie smiled nevertheless, and before Zack could even come back with something to eat, Richie was out again.

*

*

*

“... nice but ...just overwhelming.. ‘m not.. caring…. doesn’t understa.. scared.” Richie frowns slightly, trying to focus on the voice but he could only make out bits and pieces.

“.. think she.. understand… loves.” Another voice replies, and Richie can feel a slight frustration bubble in his chest, and before he can stop himself, a groan is pushed past his lips. “‘chie?” Someone asks, and he can only guess that someone is saying his name. He groans again, blinking his eyes open.

A blurry world greets him, and he squints, trying to make out the faces next to him. Before he can say something else though, someone pushes his glasses onto his face, and the world is suddenly in focus again and he’s staring at Beverly and Eddie sitting next to him in the living room, staring at him.

“Hey.” Richie rasps, licking his dry lips. Bev was immediately handing him a glass of water, and Richie takes it gratefully, taking a sip. “What were you talking about?” He asks softly, glancing at the two. Both still had small cuts and bruises littering their body, but they were looking better.

Bev’s neck was littered with healing bruises, looking painful, and Eddie’s arm was wrapped in a cast.

“My aunt, we’ve been looking for houses cause my own house is still a crime scene, and neither of us want to live there honestly, but she’s just.. a lot I guess.” Bev mutters softly, and Richie’s face softens.

“That bad?”

“No not bad, she cares and we’ve been spending a lot of time together. But she’s just overwhelming sometimes. It’s okay.” Bev brushes off, and Richie frowns slightly, but decided to drop it for now. Not because he didn’t care, but because he knew he couldn’t just magically fix her problems.

Richie turns to Eddie instead,. “Are you okay?” He asks, eyes travelling to the cast, Eddie could see it, frowning at the gaze.

“I’m okay Rich, it doesn’t even hurt,” He brushes off but Richie shakes his head.

“No, how are _you_?” He glances back up at Eddie’s eyes, confusion swimming in them. “I heard you stood up to your mom, and you’ve told me how she was.. “ _Abusive_. That’s what Richie had called it maybe a week ago, Richie didn’t really know how long it had been. But it was two days before the fight.

Eddie’s mom had been very possessive again, forcing new pills onto him and threatening to lock him up forever after she saw him coming home with more cuts and bruises every coming day. And Eddie had snapped that day, climbing out of the window to meet up with Richie at Bill’s home.

Richie had been sitting outside already, unable to sleep, and Eddie had just spilled every tiny detail he could think of.

“My mom is still a nutjob but I think she understands that I’m serious,”

“You stood up to her?” Richie gapes, and Bev snickers.

“Oh he sure did,” She smiles, looking at Eddie. “Tell Richie what you told your mom about your medicine.” An embarrassed look crosses Eddie’s features, and he ducks his head for a moment, before hesitantly lifting his head.

“I told them they’re gazebos,” Eddie murmurs, and Richie barks out a laugh at that, grinning brightly.

“You’re so cute sometimes, Eds.” He teases. a bright grin plastered on his face. The three of them bickered for a few hours, talking about the most insignificant things but Richie found himself enjoying every moment of it, finally being able to allow himself to fully emerge himself into the normal world.

He smiled as they complained about the most basic things, school, homework, bullies, bad neighbours, annoying family members, or even things like clothing, decorating bedrooms, bikes, birthdays and so on. He didn’t talk much, not just because he was painfully unfamiliar with all of these.

But also because he was still kinda tired, and his ribs were still making it hard to talk.

So he just listened most of the time, until the front door opened. Richie flinched against his will, causing the rest of to look at him with a sad look, and Richie hated it. Bill’s parents walked in, followed closely by Bill and Georgie, the latter on Bill’s back, and both of them smiling brightly.

“Chee, you’re awake!” Georgie grinned, hopping off Bill’s back and running over at him. “It’s good to see you awake.” Richie smiles softly as Georgie climbs on the couch, hugging him carefully. There was a slight tinge of pain but Georgie was careful, laying on his chest and wrapping arms around him.

“I missed you too buddy,” Richie grins, even if they had both seen each other the last time Richie was awake. But to be fair, Richie has been tired and in a lot more pain than he was now.

“Can you guys give us a minute alone?” Sharon asks softly, and Eddie and Bev both look at her with a knowing look. They both nod, standing up and leaving the living room.

“What’s going on?” Richie suddenly feels his stomach twist slightly, worry gnawing at him. Zack pulled a chair towards the couch, sitting down in front of him. Richie sits up carefully, and he winces as pain shoots through his ribs at the sudden movement. Georgie moves carefully, sitting down next to him.

Sharon glances at him with a worried expression but sits down as well, Bill sitting down on the same couch.

“I wanted to talk to you before the whole attack but we were interrupted obviously,” Sharon starts with a hesitant smile, and Richie frowns softly, remembering the attack all too well. “Zack and I were talking about what would happen if this is all over, what would happen to you.” She adds softly.

Richie looks down at the question, gnawing at his lip. Because he too had wondered that many times. Where would he go?

“We’ve been talking to Becky a lot, and the organisation has been working to restore your identity, declare you undead so to speak,” Sharon says, and Richie looks up almost hesitantly.

“They can do that?” Richie squeaks, barely allowing himself to feel any sliver of hope. Sharon chuckles, nodding her head.

“They can, it’s just going to take a while I’m afraid,” Sharon says, expecting Richie to be excited, but instead, a look of worry and doubt seemed to pass his face.

“And what then?” He croaks, and he can feel tears burning in his eyes, insides turning, and he almost felt sick. Sharon seemed to notice his panic, scooting forwards and taking Richie’s hands in hers, squeezing them softly.

“We want you to come live with us Richie,” Sharon whispers, and Richie snaps his head up, mouth falling open. His throat closed up, and he felt tears spilling down his cheeks.

“Don’t lie to me,” He whispers, barely able to push the words past his lungs. Sharon just smiles at him, and Richie could only cry even harder at the kind smile, eyes filled with so much love and appreciation. He didn’t deserve it, he deserved none of it, and yet Sharon’s gaze didn’t falter.

“I’m not honey, we would never joke about that,” Sharon shakes her head softly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “We all talked about it, and you’re basically family already.”

“Why would you….-” Richie whimpers, and Sharon brushes Richie’s tears away with her thumbs, smiling again. “Are you sure?”

“We’re sure Richie, we _want_ to give you home, we want to be there for you-” Sharon looks down for a moment, a flicker of doubt. “If you’d let us of course, we don’t want to replace your parents but we don’t have to be i-” Sharon couldn’t even finish the sentence in the first place as Richie broke down.

His body shook, sobs tearing out of his throat.

Sharon immediately moved, sitting down on the small space between Richie and the couch, barely fitting. But neither of them minded, and Sharon carefully wrapped her arms around him. He just buried his face in the hug, allowing himself to cry, finally allowing himself to just let go.

Bill’s mom softly rubbed his back, holding him close and Richie clung to her, tears streaming down his face. Georgie wrapped his tiny arms around Richie’s waist, pressing against his side. And quickly Richie could feel Bill crowding him on the other side, wrapping his arms around both Georgie and him.

And Zack did so as well, crouching down in front of the couch and wrapping his arms around him.

Richie felt himself shake, both from the pain slowly starting to get worse and from the sobs wracking through his system.

And he allowed himself to be truly held for the first time in 8 years.


	9. Chapter 9

“Fuck I can’t do this shit,” Richie mumbles, burying his face in his hands. He could feel frustration bubbling in his stomach, tears burning in his eyes. He just wanted to scream right now, throw something, hit something.

“That’s okay Richie, just take your time,” Andrea said next to him, and Richie lifts his head slowly to glance at Andrea sitting next to him, smiling softly. Richie scrunches up his nose in frustration, glancing back down at his notebook in front of him, frowning as if that would make the equations make more sense.

Subtracting and adding numbers were easy for him, but this? He had no clue why but he just _didn’t get it_.

The multiplier sign almost seemed to burn him, as if it could physically attack him. Just simply jump off the page and come at him if he didn’t solve it fast enough. His brain wrecked, forcing… trying to find the answer to the equation. And it should be easy, Georgie understood this!

“Richie?” Andrea asks softly, and Richie lifts his head almost fast enough to break his neck. Tears jumped in his eyes, and he gasps. He felt… his hands were itching.. brain whirling. “Okay I think that’s enough for today.” Stan’s mom says, reaching for the book and closing it for him.

But it only made him panic more.

“I should get this,” He squeaked, tears spilling down his cheeks.

“Georgie, can you get your mom?” Andrea asks softly, and the younger boy nods shakily, jumping off the chair and rushing out of the room.

“Why don’t I get this? I-.. Georgie is younger than me, he shouldn’t- he, I don’t…” Richie splutters, feeling tears stain his cheeks. He wanted to cry, but his tears weren’t satisfying for some reason, it only made it worse. He just wanted… he needed to _hit_. He needed to… he didn’t know what he wanted.

His head snaps up as Sharon rushes into the room, immediately walking over to him. Richie whimpers, but Sharon remains calm, reaching for Richie’s hand. The gesture was safe... familiar to him, and Richie allowed her, staring at the hand and Sharon softly squeezed it, holding it closely.

He looks up, unable to stop the tears streaming down his face.

“Hey Richie,” Sharon starts, not looking away from him. “I can see something is upsetting you, can you tell me what is?” She asks softly, and Richie swallows thickly, staring at her for a moment. It was as if the words weren’t really registering yet, and only slowly, word by word, his brain caught up.

Why was he so sad? It was a good question really.

“I-I.. I don’t know,” He chokes on a sob, but Sharon just nods softly, glancing at the couch. Richie seemed to understand, allowing her to guide him to the couch, and he sits down. He hisses as his broken ribs jostled, and Sharon doesn’t let go of his hands, rubbing a thumb along it.

“Can you tell me when it started?” She asks, and Richie sniffles, frowning slightly.

“The homework… I didn’t… I didn’t get it.” He mumbles, ducking his head in embarrassment. He was crying over homework.. he was crying over a simple math equation that he just didn’t get.

“Does that make you sad?” Sharon asks softly, frowning slightly. The questions sounded weird in her mind, almost unnatural falling off her lips. But it’s what Richie’s therapist had told her to do, and what would hopefully help Richie. So she pushed it aside, her attention only on Richie.

The younger boy seemed to think for a moment, still hiccupping slightly from the tears before he shook his head.

“Frustrated I think… but also sad.” He frowns again, voice barely above a whisper. Then, he lifts his gaze, looking Sharon in her eyes. “They took everything away from me.. I didn’t even get to go to school. I don’t even _remember_ it… I don’t even remember Bill.. or Eddie or Stan… I just.. they took everything from me, and it just..-” Richie started to cry again.

Sharon wasn’t surprised, but her heart still broke at the sight.

“The homework reminded you of that,” Sharon finishes for him, no judgement in her voice.

“I should be able to do this,” Richie whispers brokenly. “I just want to be normal…” He adds, and Sharon can feel her heart shatter at the sentence.

“None of us are normal Richie,” Sharon starts hesitantly, not really sure how to phrase this right, but Richie _needed_ to hear this. “And I know it’s frustrating, I don’t think I can ever understand it, but I get it. But we will love you no matter what, you’re allowed to not get it. We can help you with that if you want, but you don’t have to, not for us. We will still be here, we won’t leave you, I won’t leave you, ever.” She spoke softly.

Richie didn’t reply, tears rolling down his cheeks even harder and he flung himself forwards, hugging Sharon tightly. The woman smiles sadly, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him closer. Richie burrows his face in the crook in her neck, sobbing silently against her, shaking as well.

She just holds him, rubbing his back.

This wasn’t anything new for her, as much as she hated to say it. But it was true, and this wasn’t Richie’s first breakdown since the events of the fight now a week ago already. C-PTSD is what Richie’s therapist had told them, that’s what Richie was ‘suffering’ from, even if Sharon hated the word.

It sounded too negative, and too much Richie’s fault. But that didn’t take away from the fact that he had it, which wasn’t at all surprising but still all too painful for Sharon to hear it. Richie deserved the world, and yet he was hurt in the worst ways possible. And it left him scarred, both mentally and physically.

Richie cries, and Sharon had no idea how long it was, but before she knew it, Richie pulled away.

“I’m sorry, I overreacted.” Richie mumbles, not daring to look at her, but Sharon smiles softly, tipping his head back towards her softly.

“You didn’t,” She whispers, shaking her head. “You’re allowed to have these feelings, they’re normal.”

“It’s not normal that I can’t express them and act like a fucking toddler throwing a temper tantrum,” Richie snapped, but Sharon doesn’t move away, stays with him.

“That’s okay,” She assures him. “We all feel these emotions Richie, you just feel them a bit stronger, but that’s okay.” Richie sniffles, and Sharon reaches up softly, brushing away the tears.

“Thank you.” Richie whispers, voice cracking and Sharon chuckles. Richie looks up at Andrea and Georgie, who were glancing at him, even if they tried to hide it. Richie sucks in a breath, standing up and walking back to the kitchen table and sitting down.

“We can stop for today Richie, or do something else?” Andrea asks him, but Richie shakes his head.

“No I want to continue… I _want_ to understand but I think I need a little more help before I understand.” He asks, and Georgie glances at him.

“I can help, big Bill helped me with multiplications as well.” Georgie offers, and Richie smiles softly, nodding.

“Help me, King George.” He chuckles heavily, and Georgie slips off his seat, crawling onto his lap instead and turning to the paper. He reaches for the paper, flipping it over to get an empty one, and grabbing an orange marker, drawing a simple truck on the paper, and then another one, and another one.

Then he went on to draw 3 simple stick figures in them.

“Billy said I had to see it as trucks with people in them, so there are-” Richie wraps his arms around Georgie, resting his chin on Georgie’s shoulder as he listened to Georgie ramble through his explanation, and smiling softly. They ended up drawing weird hats, clothes and hair on all the people in the trucks.

They made different colours, made dresses, drew more cars, different ones. And Richie could feel himself smile softly.

They continued to draw, 3 trucks, 3 people, so 9 in total. 2 trucks, 5 people. 5 truck and 2 people, he drew Sharon and Zack, then Bev and Ben, him and Eddie, he drew Andrea and Donald, he drew Richie and Georgie, and he smiled as he slowly started to understand how multiplications worked.

And for a moment, he didn’t worry about being normal anymore.

*

*

*

“It’s just frustrating, like I _know_ I’m being irrational,” Richie huffs, wrapping his arms around himself and pouting slightly.

“Maybe-” His therapist muses slowly, looking at him. “But there’s nothing wrong with that, remember that we talked about that?” She asks, and Richie shrugs.

“Yeah yeah I know that, I’m fucked up and have a baby’s ability to regulate my emotion.” Richie says, but there was a hint of laughter in his voice. His therapist, Marie, can’t help but chuckle softly at that, shaking her head in amusement.

“You’re working on it, that’s all that matters.” Marie says, shifting slightly on the spot. “And you figured it out eventually right?”

Richie looks up, nodding. “Georgie helped me, we drew a lot, it was fun I guess.” Richie shrugs again. “And Mrs. Uris is helping me a lot, she’s a good teacher.” Marie chuckles at that.

“I would surely hope so, it’s her official job.” She says, and Richie nods absently. She wasn’t teaching Georgie’s class just yet, she was a teacher now two grades above his class, but she was still teaching at the same school, which is how the two families got to know each other even better.

Richie glances up at Marie for a moment, and there was a short silence. Marie wasn’t a professional therapist, and really, she wasn’t qualified to treat him in the first place, but she was the closest person they had that knew about their secret of being a Super, she was in Becky’s organisation after all.

But she still knew a lot, and it was clear how badly Richie needed it.

“But it’s good that you recognise your own reactions, and that they are too much,” Marie says, frowning slightly. “Breaking through that denial is important, but so is expression those emotions.”

“Even when I’m throwing a tantrum about not getting a simple equation, or dinner running late?” Richie scrolls slightly, tightening his hands around his arms as frustration bubbled up again.

“Why did that upset you?” She asks softly, and Richie looks down, suddenly feeling his face heat with embarrassment. When Richie didn’t respond, Marie frowns slightly. “What happened?” Richie scrunches his face up more, fiddling with his hands.

“Bill was helping with dinner and he forgot to turn on the oven, so dinner wasn’t ready in time,” Richie mumbles, not daring to look up. He really didn’t want to remember how he had freaked out in front of Bill and his parents. He was just lucky that Georgie was with a friend of him, but that didn’t make it much better.

He still freaked out over such a small thing..

“You got angry with him.” Marie states and Richie nods numbly. “What did you do?”

“I screamed at him,” Richie whispers, wincing at the memory. He had screamed, actually screamed at Bill for doing something so minor as forgetting to turn on the oven. It only delayed dinner by 20 minutes, but at the time he just… he just felt so angry, so frustrated over it.

Marie nods absently, crossing her legs. “Did you physically lash out? Or use your powers?” Richie’s eyes widen at the question, feeling disgust turn his stomach painfully. Just the implication of using his powers against Bill because he …

“I wouldn’t,” Richie spews, feeling tears of frustration burn at his eyes. “Not again, not.. now.” Richie splutters, words not forming correctly. He _had_ attacked Bill the first day he met him, but at that time he thought Bill was a threat to Georgie’s life. And he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt his brother.

But he knew Bill wouldn’t hurt Georgie, he would never. There was no reason to.

“That is a good thing Richie, you are feeling all these emotions that you can’t control yet, and that’s okay, but you don’t lash out.” Marie speaks up.

“I’m not going to, I won’t.” Richie shakes his head, and Marie smiles softly, nodding. She glances at the clock for a moment, glancing back.

“I trust you won’t, and I think we both know that you won’t.” Marie says.

“I don’t want to hurt them.” Richie says and Marie nods knowingly.

“I know that,” She smiles, taking a sip of her water for a moment. “So what happened afterwards?” She asks, putting the cup down again. Richie shrugs.

“Mr. Denbrough stepped in and took me outside for a moment, just to calm down. And in the meantime Bill an Georgie fixed dinner.”

“Did going outside help?” Marie asks and Richie seems to think for a moment, before he nods. “That might be because you’re less trapped outside. It feels more freeing.” Marie speculates, and Richie nods numbly, feeling a little bit of the heavy weight in his chest lift off.

Slowly, little by little every day.

Until it was light enough to bear. 

*

*

*

“It’s stupid, it’s obvious they both like each other, why don’t they just admit it?” Richie chuckles, and Sharon smiles behind him.

“Sometimes adults are just like little kids.” She muses, glancing at the screen for a moment. She wasn’t really paying attention to the show itself, she had tried with Bill when the first season aired but it wasn’t for her. Richie however absolutely _loved_ the show, and had binged the first two season in a week.

And while Sharon didn’t like the show itself, she was glad to be spending time with Richie, and that made everything so worth it.

“Yeah but like, it’s _so_ obvious!” Richie groans, tipping his head back to glance up at Sharon with a lazy smile on his face. Sharon chuckles again, pushing Richie’s head back and grabbing another strand of hair.

“Hold still if you don’t want to get a bald spot.” Sharon teases, and she could almost feel the frustration as Richie was unable to stick out his tongue at her. But he followed her instructions, staying still and allowing his mom to cut another piece of his hair off, allowing it to fall to the ground.

It felt soothing, and Richie relished in the feeling of Sharon running her fingers through his hair.

It had started to curl more ever since he escaped that lab, now 1 and a half months ago already. It was two weeks after the last fight.. and it seemed so short yet so long at the same time. But effects were clear on Richie’s hair. Stress is what Marie said it was, or rather, not being stressed that caused Richie’s hair to change.

And maybe it was partially Richie growing up more, but Sharon liked to think it was because Richie was finally _free_.

Sharon loved the curls, and what it represented, but it was starting to get too long as well, and Richie had made clear all too quickly he wouldn’t let someone he didn’t know near him with scissors. Sharon understood, so she had quickly offered to be the one to cut Richie’s hair, which Richie was okay with.

“I thought that girl was dating that guy with the big hair?” Sharon offers softly, and Richie huffs.

“He’s a jerk Mrs. B, and they broke up like 2 seasons ago.” Richie responds, as Sharon cuts off another piece of his hair, ruffling through it softly and admiring her work.

“You know I was talking to Andrea about enrolling you for Middle School,” Sharon speaks up after a short silence. “She thinks it’s possible for sure, you’re picking up on everything very quickly, and you’re already above Georgie’s level but… -”

“But what?” Richie asks softly, and Sharon could feel Richie stiffening slightly at that.

“You do know that you don’t have to enrol right? You can wait a year, give yourself time to catch up. Or we can look into home-schooling, we could work something out.” Sharon says, and Richie stills a moment, slowly turning around and glancing at Sharon, still both sitting on the ground.

Sharon lowers the scissors and comb to the floor, waiting patiently.

“I’m really scared but… I just want to be normal, I want to go to school.” Richie tries softly, and Sharon sighs miserably, gnawing at her lip. She didn’t _want_ to give in, but she knew Richie could make his own choices, and that she shouldn’t push him away too much. So she sighs again, looking down for a moment.

The thought of sending Richie to school scared her more than she wanted to admit, the thought of sending Georgie back to school did so as well but less so. Georgie had been to school before, Richie had never. It was different.

“Okay I trust you.” She murmurs after a moment, reaching out to cart a hand through his now short curly hair. Richie smiled, grateful that she trusted him. He didn’t say anything, just turned back around to the screen and leaning back against Sharon, and she carefully wrapped her arms around him.

_She loved this boy so much already._

*

*

*

It was fine for so long, even before the fight Richie had been sleeping in either Bill’s or Georgie’s room, and they might be making Richie’s room ready, but it still wasn’t finished and for some Richie always ended up on the spare mattress in Bill’s room or even in Georgie’s bed, often if the boy was having a bad day, or had woken up from a nightmare before Richie had gone to bed.

It had been 2 months since Richie and Georgie broke out of the labs, and it had only taken 4 days to reach Derry, they had been _here_ for so long now already.

 _“Mom?_ ” Bill asks softly, and his mom glances up immediately, confusion and slight fear on her face as she takes in his appearance. 

_“What’s wrong?”_ She asks, standing up immediately. Bill sighs, shaking his head softly but stopping immediately as it only made him feel worse, the pounding in his head increasing.

 _“I threw up, I don’t feel good.”_ Bill whimpers softly in his head, wrapping his arms around his stomach. Sharon was walking before Bill could finish the sentence, rushing over to him.

“Do I need to clean up?” She asks, putting a hand on his forehead. Bill takes a shuddering breath, but relished in the touch for a moment. Sharon could feel the heat radiating from Bill’s forehead, showing her that he was _definitely_ having a fever.

“No I m-made it to the t-toilet,” Bill shook his head, and Sharon nods numbly, wrapping an arm around Bill, mindful of the still healing burn wounds on his shoulder, and the rest of his body.

“That’s good, c’mon.” She gently guides him to the couch, and he sits down, curling into himself almost immediately. Sharon reaches for a blanket, handing it to Bill and wrapping it around himself. Sharon smiles sadly at him, running her fingers through his now damp hair and brushing it back.

Bill closes his eyes for a moment, and Sharon glances at the clock for a moment. It wasn’t even _that_ late yet, barely past midnight. Sharon was actually planning on going to bed soon, but this was more important. So she gets up again, feelings her knees pop quickly before she made her way over to the kitchen.

She quickly got him the medicine, bringing him a glass of water as well.

She hands him both, sitting down and watching as Bill swallows the medicine, while she was checking his temperature. Bill waits before the machine beeped, signalling that the temperature was done. He definitely did have a fever, but it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, which calmed Sharon down slightly.

Bill stayed downstairs with his mom for half an hour still, just watching television mindlessly.

But eventually Bill found himself growing tired and he slowly got up. His head was spinning slightly but he steadied himself.

 _“I’m going to bed.”_ He says softly in her head, and Sharon nods.

“Good idea,” Sharon chuckles, standing up and walking after Bill and turning off the lights as she does so. Bill was walking a little slowly, but Sharon wasn’t surprised by that. What she was surprised at however was Bill walking into a different room.

 _“Richie’s a light sleeper, I don’t want to wake him up,”_ Bill explains, sinking down on the bed with an exhausted huff. _“And this one is closer to the bathroom._ ” He adds and Sharon nods.

“He needs his sleep,” Sharon nods, reaching over to the corner of the room to grab a new water bottle and setting it next to the bed. Bill had already buried himself in the blankets, and Sharon runs her fingers through his hair again. “Will you be alright for tonight?” She asks softly, and he nods.

She could see he was exhausted, and she guessed even too exhausted to communicate with her. So she just smiles softly, brushing his cheek and planting a kiss on his forehead.

“I’m on the other side of the hall if you need me.” She whispers, and Bill nods sleepily, closing his eyes already. Sharon chuckles softly and walks back to her room. She quickly got ready for bed, climbing into the empty bed. Zack was gone on a working trip for a few days, so it was just her and the three boys.

Sharon really had no idea just how long it had been really. But she knew she had been asleep for a while when a scream suddenly rang through the house. Sharon immediately bolts upwards, eyes wide open and for a second she could only feel sheer panic rush through her body, her muscles locking up.

Then she was throwing the blanket over her legs, jumping out of bed and sprinting over to the hallway. Another scream rang through the hall but she was at the door before it could stop, throwing it open. She froze at the sight, and she wanted to cry for a moment, stomach turning painfully.

Richie was on the ground on the spare mattress, thrashing wildly. He was still screaming, clawing at his arms, his face, his neck. He was leaving bloody welts, tears streaming down his face, and he _screamed_. Screamed loudly for anyone in the house to hear what was going on, including Bill and Georgie.

“Richie!” Sharon gasps, rushing forwards and dropping to her knees. She wasn’t sure if it was even responsible to do so, but at this moment she didn’t care, and she moved without thinking, wrapping her arms around Richie. The younger boy cried out in fear, screaming even louder.

Tears streamed down his face, and he was thrashing, lashing out at her, trying to hit her, kick at her. Sharon grunted, switching until she was behind Richie, wrapping her arms around him even tighter and pressing his arms to his own chest, trying to keep him from lashing out at her.

And Sharon knew that the only reason why she could do that was because Richie was because he was still recovering.

Richie cried loudly, sounding like a cornered animal.

“I got you, don’t worry, I got you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Sharon tries, murmuring in his ear. Richie sobbed again, but his efforts to fight seemed to suddenly vanish. “I’m here Richie, you’re safe. Bill is here, so is Georgie.” She continues to murmur, and she could see it was calming Richie down.

He was still sobbing loudly, the sounds wracking from his throat, but he wasn’t fighting anymore. She shifted, turning until Richie was burying his face in her shoulder, laying against her and holding him like a child, which he _was_.

“I got you Richie, shhhhh. I’m here.” She whispers, stroking his back comfortably. Slowly she dared to lift her head, staring at both Bill and Georgie standing in the doorway. Bill seemed slightly delirious, forehead sweaty and leaning against the doorway, but Georgie wrapped up in a loose hug.

Sharon reluctantly turns back to Richie, rocking him softly back and forth.

It seemed to take hours until Richie finally calmed down, leaving him hiccupping softly, occasionally a sob tearing from his throat. He collapsed against Sharon, a boneless heap almost as if they had just vanished. He didn’t close his eyes, numbly staring ahead as the right side of his face rested on her shoulder.

Sharon carefully reached up, running her fingers through his hair.

“Are you with me?” She asks softly, brushing the hair out of face. Richie was silent for a moment before he softly nods, sniffling. Sharon shifts slightly, so she was able to look at Richie, brushing the tears from his face with her thumbs. Richie flinches away from the touch, and Sharon can feel her heart squeeze painfully.

There was a tense silence where nobody really knew how to react, before Georgie walked over to Richie, grabbing the glasses from the bedside and holding them out for the older boy.

Richie glances up, silently reaching out and grabbing them. He blinks a few times as he can finally see better. He had only gotten them 2 days ago, and the prescription was no doubt a lot better. His temporary glasses made him slightly nauseous the more he wore them, and his sight was still slightly off.

Then for the first time he seemed to be able to comprehend what was going on, or what was happening.

Bill swallowed as Richie’s gaze landed on him. There was a moment of confusion on Richie’s face, sleep still too clear in his eyes, but then it changed. In a flash, just a second, the confusion completely vanished, making way for anger. Bill could swear he saw his eyes flash red for a moment.

It was just pure anger.

“Where were you?” Richie hisses, scrambling out of Sharon’s hold before she could stop him.

“Richie.” She warned but the younger boy was having none, couldn’t even hear it. He couldn’t hear anything but the blood roaring through his head.

“Where the fuck were you?” Richie shouts, walking up to Bill. Georgie whimpered softly, taking a step backwards as Richie stalked up to Bill. “Where the fuck-?” Richie could feel anger, frustration… he could feel the two emotions raging through his body, and he could feel tears spilling.

They almost seemed to burn his cheeks, and he wanted to recoil at that.

“I w-was in your room.” Bill says, but his mouth felt extremely dry, eyes wide at Richie’s outburst.

“Why?!” Richie cries out, and Bill was sure he could see Richie’s eyes flashing red. Georgie felt the surge of anger, and he almost winced as Richie’s emotions became too much. Georgie forced his powers to work, pushing out waves of happiness, calmness, he couldn’t really tell.

He just knew he had to-

“Stop that!” Richie snaps suddenly, glaring at Georgie with red blazing eyes. The younger boy whimpers, pulling back his powers all too quickly, and he felt tears well up as all emotions crashed into him, and he took a fearful step back. _That_ seemed to snap Richie out of his anger, and his eyes go wide with regret, stumbling back.

Georgie could feel the anger disappear, and overwhelming guilt radiates from Richie, making the tears fall down his cheeks.

“Georgie-“ Richie whimpers, looking so lost in the moment.

“Hey Richie-” Sharon starts almost hesitantly, walking up to the scared boy. Richie flinches, but didn’t move away from her, looking at her with shame all too clear in his eyes. “How about we go downstairs to talk about this?” She suggests, and Richie swallows thickly, reluctantly looking at Bill and Georgie.

The two boys were obviously distressed, but there was no blame or anger in their eyes.

Richie shivers slightly, but eventually nods. Sharon smiles wryly, and after a few seconds of silence they made their way over to the living room. Bill was breathing thickly, and it was clear he was still sick, so Sharon grabbed one of the fluffy blankets from the couch, wrapping it around him as he sat down.

“Do you hate me?” Richie whimpers, the voice so broken, and Sharon could swear she felt her heart break at the question. She fiercely shook her head.

“No Richie, we don’t. Remember why you’re having these outbursts, it’s not your fault okay? It’s the trauma. And we know this, you’re working on it. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Sharon says, leaving little room for Richie to argue against it. For a moment it seemed like he wanted to but then he deflated.

He sits down on the couch, away from Bill and Georgie.

“Why were you so angry at Billy?” Georgie whispers eventually, looking at Richie with sad eyes. He just wanted to crawl over towards the boy, but he didn’t. Not because he was scared Richie would do something, but because Georgie was afraid of hurting Richie if he did.

Riche took a shuddering breath, refusing to look up. “I can’t sleep when it’s silent,” He mumbles softly, turning his head away from them. Georgie whimpers at the admission and Richie knew that Georgie understood what Richie was talking about.

“Because of your p-p.. your power?” Bill asks, coughing into his hand for a second. Richie gnaws at his lip, shrugging.

“Partially… my powers..” Richie stops for a moment, taking a shuddering breath. “I can only manipulate sounds I hear so not hearing anything means I… can’t use my powers… and that scares me.” Richie admits softly, rubbing at his face as a tear trails down.

“What is the other reason?” Sharon asks softly, and now, Richie does look up. His eyes looked tired, bags were under them, and his eyes were tinted red from the tears.

“They would put me in the silence room when I misbehaved.” Richie could barely push the words past his lips, voice cracking and barely audible. Sharon could feel her heart break at the admission, and she wanted nothing more than to reach out, wrap him up in a big hug and never let go.

But Richie needed this right now, he needed to tell what was going on and why he was feeling the way he was. It was so important for people who had gone through what Richie had gone through to talk, express their emotions and feel like they had an environment where they could.

And Richie was making steps, but he was still notorious with keeping things to himself.

“What is the silence room?” Sharon asks softly, and she stares at Richie but Richie whimpers, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs, shaking his head. “It’s okay Richie, take your time.” Sharon tried, but Richie shook his head again, glancing at Georgie with teary eyes.

Georgie could _feel_ shame rolling off him at the gaze, and Georgie understood, understood all too well what Richie meant.

“Sometimes they would take Richie away, the big men were mad when they did but I didn’t understand what they were doing.” Georgie starts softly, and Richie didn’t stop him. “But it was never long, but there was this girl and the bad people were hurting her and Richie stopped them and they took him away.” Georgie whimpered.

Bill reached out, wrapping an arm around Georgie. Sickness be damned, he wasn’t allowed to leave his little brother when he was clearly distraught. Georgie stays still, sniffling.

“I didn’t see him for 2 days, and then the bad people brought him in. He-” Georgie stops himself, taking a shuddering breath. Tears were trailing down his face and he tried to look at Richie, but the older boy was glancing away, silent tears streaming down his face. Georgie could see Richie’s fingers digging into his skin.

He wanted to tell him to stop, that he shouldn’t hurt himself, but he knew Richie wanted him to explain, and Georgie wasn’t sure if he could do that if he side tracked now.

“He had cuffs on his wrist and they were behind his back.. and there was a blindfold on him and earphones, and something in his mouth.” Georgie could barely make the words audible, but at the way Sharon flinched at the revelation, it was clear she both heard and understood what it meant, and so did Bill.

Sharon drags her eyes over to Richie, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Just thinking about Richie being chained down, unable to hear anything when that was especially how his powers worked, and then for 2 whole days… that hurt her in ways she didn’t really understand.

It hurt, and she silently wiped at her tears, she had to be strong for Richie right now.

“Is this the first time you had a nightmare?” Sharon asks, and for a moment she could see doubt flash over Richie’s face, and she knew that he was debating whether to tell the truth or not. But eventually he sighs, hanging his head.

“No I’ve had them before..” Richie mumbles.

“How many?” Sharon tried to keep her tone neutral, to avoid scaring Richie, but she just barely succeeded. Richie looks up.

“Every night?” He whispers, voice broken. “I just… it’s not this bad, never this bad. Sometimes I can just.. go to sleep again but often I can’t so I just lay there.. or I go outside or something, but you knew that already.” Richie shrugs slightly, and as much as Sharon hated hearing it, she was glad Richie was finally opening up slightly.

Sharon reaches forwards, grabbing Richie’s hands and stroking it softly, Richie looks up with hesitant eyes. But luckily he didn’t pull away from her.

“What was different about this night?” She whispers, but Bill already knew what was different than all the other nights.

“I was alone…” Richie whimpers, glancing at Bill. But the blame that had initially been in his eyes was gone. “I was alone and it was silent… It reminded me of _that_ room. I can’t… I don’t think I can sleep alone.” Richie admits, ducking his head in embarrassment.

“Is that you d-didn’t want to sleep in your own r-room?” Bill asks, voice scratchy and he swallows thickly. It was obvious he was still sick, and Sharon made a mental note to make sure she gave Bill enough of her time tomorrow, he deserve it after everything that had happened.

But not now, not when Richie rubbed at the tears in frustration, nodding shamefully.

“I just can’t do it Bill, I’m sorry, I kno-”

“ _Richie.”_ Bill says in his head, and Richie snaps his mouth shut at that. “ _You don’t have to apologise, I don’t mind sharing my room at all, I’m not a light sleeper. And if it helps you sleep then you can stay as long as you want.”_

Richie teared up at that, pressing his hand over his mouth as tears started to spill even worse than before.

Georgie was the first one to react this time, and he jumped off the couch to run over to Richie’s side. And Richie opened his arms to welcome Georgie into it. He immediately closed his arms around him, burying his face in the embrace. There was a slight groan as his cracked ribs were jostled but he bit it down.

“You can stay in my room as well, Chee.” Georgie murmurs in the embrace, and Richie chuckles.

“Thank you,” Richie could barely force out, burying his face back in the embrace, until eventually Sharon and Bill joined the hug as well, not caring that Bill was still ill.

He just relished in the hug, allowing himself to hope for a moment more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter, just one more chapter after this! Tell me what you think of this one!


	10. Chapter 10

“Nu-uh, you guys are full of shit!” Richie’s voice was heard loud and clear, tutting after the sentence.

“Why the fuck would we lie about this Richie?” Eddie snaps back.

“To mess with me? I don’t know Eddie Spaghetti, but I call total bullshit.” Richie retorts, and for a moment Bev could only focus on the fact that these two were definitely teasing each other right now, and it wasn’t anything serious. Bev glances at her aunt for a moment, but Becky shrugs as well.

Neither of them had any idea what was going on.

“Are you being serious right now? Who the fuck cares about-” Eddie starts but stops with an irritated growl, sighing just as Beverly steps into the room. Richie flinches slightly as he suddenly notices Bev and Becky walking into the room, but he quickly forgets as Eddie huffs out a frustrated breath, sending a gush of wind at him.

Richie stumbles slightly, but he just snickers at that, flipping him the bird.

“What is Eddie lying about?” Bev asks curiously, glancing at the rest of the Losers. Stan was standing near the two, arms over each other and staring at Eddie and Richie, but he shook his head with an almost annoyed expression, even if Bev knew he wasn’t truly annoyed with the two right now.

They could just be.. a handful sometimes. And even if they were all roughly the same age, nobody seemed to have the energy to constantly deal with the storm that was Richie and Eddie bickering together. And it certainly wouldn’t be the first time that some of them lashed out using their powers to make them stop.

“Bill’s parents gave Richie the birth certificate you send them,” Mike eventually speaks up, but that didn’t explain anything to Bev, and the boy seemed to notice her confusion. Mike sighs, walking over to Richie and plucking the piece of paper from his pocket and throwing it over towards Bev.

“It’s total bullshit! It’s all fake, fake news I tell ya!” Richie cries out.

“Jesus Christ Richie, it’s not a big deal, get over it!” Eddie snaps, sending another gush of wind towards Richie, but he quickly dodged it. His eyes flashed red for a moment, just seconds before the red ring burst to life around Richie, and Eddie yells at he was thrown back a couple of inches.

But Eddie acted quickly, steadying himself in the air, and sending a glare towards Richie. Beverly rolled her eyes, rolling out the piece of paper in her hand, clearly a quick copy of the original which would explain how careless Richie had been with it, and looking at it with curious eyes.

She stared at the piece of paper for a moment, not really understanding _what_ Mike wanted her to see, or why Richie and Eddie were bickering so much about. And for a second she wanted to ask, despite her better judgement that is, but then she dully noticed one of the lines written.

 _Date of birth-MM-DD-YYYY: 03-07-2004_.

“I can’t be younger than Eddie!” Richie cries out, and Eddie kicks him in the shin.

“It’s one day you asshole.” Eddie grumbles.

“Yes but look at you, you’re small, you’re like those small little shampoo bottles Bill’s mom gets for free at the grocery stores.” Richie shoots back, and Eddie takes an annoyed breath, looking over at Beverly with almost pleading eyes. But Bev slowly look at Bill, feeling him poke at her head for a moment, a grin on his face.

 _“Who’s gonna tell Richie he’s the youngest of us all?”_ Bill snickers.

*

*

*

“That was incredible Eddie!” Becky gushes as she hands him a water bottle, and he gratefully accepts.

“Are you okay?” He instead asks, but Becky waves him off with a grin that was so alike to Bev’s it was almost scary. The more time they spent with her, the more resemblances they all saw. The way her hair would look more red in certain light or in direct sunlight, her freckles dotting her nose.

And just her behaviour was mature, yet so alike to Bev at the same time.

Becky chuckles. “I’m okay Eddie, you can’t really hurt me.” She says, showing off her bare arms. And Eddie and even Richie watched with awe as the few small cuts and bruises disappear quickly, leaving nothing behind. Becky smiles, turning her arms a few times to prove to Eddie she was really okay.

She may not have the most offensive power, but what she lacked offensively, she made up by having a powerful defensive power of healing rapidly, and her ability to fight hand to hand. And it also meant she was a perfect sparring partner for the Losers to further train their powers if they wanted to.

“I want to push you a little bit more though,” Becky says as Eddie takes another chug, clearly calming down and levelling out his breathing.

“That’s what I’m for right?” Richie snickers, nudging Eddie. “Been pushing his buttons since ‘04.”

“I had one good day in my life,” Eddie mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose as he glances at Becky with an almost helpless look. Becky smiles brightly, shaking her head as she put her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him back towards the other side of the room.

“Just get over there.” Becky chuckles, turning back to Richie. “You in?” She asks, and Richie didn’t need her to explain what she meant. So he nods, making his way over to the other side of the room. Not every Loser planned on continuing the training, not like it was an obligation either.

Bev was eager to learn more about her powers, but neither Mike, Stan nor Bill wanted to be more _lethal_ , or offensive. They weren’t ashamed of their powers, but with the threat essentially gone, they felt no need to be able to attack. Bill was probably the most skilled with his powers after Richie.

But what he could do wasn’t as offensive.

They had all seen just how powerful Bill could be, getting into people’s heads, causing them pain and probably much more if he pushed, but he just didn’t want to. He didn’t want to use his powers to hurt others, and neither did Stan or Mike, and all three of them were already familiar enough with their powers.

Ben was another story, as he was still figuring out his powers to begin with, but he too shared the same sentiment; he didn’t want to use his powers to hurt anymore.

Not like the rest of the Losers did, neither Bev or Eddie wanted to actively go out to hurt people, but they were eager to continue exploring their powers, see what they could achieve, and attack _if_ necessary. And so did Richie strangely enough.

“So what are we doing?” Eddie asks, twirling his hands softly to create little whirlwinds, a little absently as he watched Becky.

“I want you to make those, but bigger.” Becky says, gesturing to the figures Eddie was making. The younger boy frowns for a moment, glancing at Becky with an uneasy gaze but eventually nodded. He took another step back, even if there was already a considerable distance between Richie and him.

Eddie glances at Richie for a moment, and the curly hair boy grins. Eddie nods hesitantly, switching into a defensive stance and ready for Richie’s attack.

That was all the encouragement Richie needed, and he sucked in a breath. It wasn’t a deep breath, ribs still aching slightly as they were still mending. A red ring burst around Richie, eyes flashing red as he let out a low whistling sound. For a second a red ring grew around his mouth before he fired.

It surged right at Eddie, and the older boy glared, moving quickly.

He pulled at his core, drawing the wind towards him. The action had become almost so familiar with him, like it was second nature. He whirled his arm around, forcing the wind to bend towards his will but he immediately noticed that it wasn’t working. The red rings flew towards him, and he let out a burst of wind.

It struck the ring, but it wasn’t a tornado, and Eddie groans loudly. “Shit-” Eddie mutters under his breath, turning back to Richie again. “Go again!” He yells so Richie could hear him. Richie happily obliged, sucking in another breath and sending a second attack at Eddie, a little slower this time.

Eddie’s brow furrowed in concentration, twirling his arms again. The result was the same once again, a pathetic gush of wind stopping the attack. But neither Eddie nor Richie stopped, and they continued. Eddie tried, he really tried but no matter how many times he did, he just couldn’t get it.

Eddie let’s out another frustrated yell, wind bursting out around him.

“Should we stop?” Richie asks, straightening up for a moment. Eddie shook his head.

“Attack me again,” He growls. “Don’t hold back.” _That_ seemed to confuse Richie for a moment, and he furrows his brow.

“Eddie are you sure?” Richie asks, concern leaking through his voice. Because no matter how much the other Losers had improved in the last few weeks, Richie was still the one with 8 years of experience with using his powers.

But Eddie didn’t wait for his approval, and instead he pulled at his core again, attacking Richie. A powerful gush of wind was sent straight at the curly haired boy and Richie acted quickly without really thinking, jumping out of the way to dodge the attack, which only angered Eddie more.

“Fight me!” Eddie yelled, and he burst forwards. Richie’s eyes widened, sucking in a breath and throwing a red shield around him. Eddie twirled in the air, kicking out his legs to throw a powerful gush of wind at the shield. Richie grunted, being forced back a few meters at the attack.

Eddie growled, sending another attack towards Richie.

The curly haired boy sucked in a deep breath, throwing his arms up and being forced back as Eddie’s attack hit. He just went with it, pulling at his core before allowing the energy to burst outwards. Eddie struck his arms out, blowing air out to catch the attack and splitting it, allowing the red energy to fly past him at both sides.

“Eddie!” Richie hisses, but Eddie was flying at him before Richie could say anything else. He threw his arm around, knocking air towards Richie from a closed fist.

“Fight me!” Eddie demanded again, but Richie rolled out of the way, frowning. He could see frustration on Eddie, and he knew he had to end it quickly. He sucks in another breath, sending an attack at the smaller boy. Eddie throws up his arms, grunting as he was forced back at the force.

Richie opens his mouth, trying to get him to stop but Eddie attacked before he could, not relenting. Richie’s mind went blank for a moment, and he sucked in a deep breath before unleashing a wave filled with so much energy, _too_ much energy. It thundered through the air, and he realised his mistake a little too late.

Eddie’s eyes widened in fear, but he reacted quickly, twirling his arms and Richie watched with wide eyes as wind whipped around Eddie. It pulled at his hair, at his clothes and it went everywhere. Time seemed to slow down, as the wind picked up, growing bigger and bigger in a matter of milliseconds.

And Eddie forced it forwards, twirling forwards and catching Richie’s attack head on.

A loud explosion rang through the room, and both boys threw up their arms as wind whipped outwards in all directions.

“Eddie stop!” Richie shouts, eyes flashing dangerously red. And Eddie deflates, eyes widening as he looks at the damage they had done to the floor, almost as if Beverly had scorched the place.

“Rich-” Eddie whispers, but Richie shook his head.

“We need to talk,” He murmurs, walking over to Eddie and reaching for his arm. “Outside.” He adds, pulling Eddie towards the door. Eddie ducks his head, gnawing at his lip as Richie pulls him outside, shutting the door behind the two of them. Richie sighs, dragging Eddie a little further away from the house until they were out of sight.

He sits down, a hand wrapped around his middle to protect his still cracked ribs. Eddie follows his example, sitting down besides Richie. He still bites his lip, fiddling with his fingers.

“I’m sorry.” Eddie whimpers.

“What happened?” Richie asks softly instead, and Eddie slowly looks up. He was surprised to see no blame in Richie’s eyes, just concern. “I’m not blaming you Eds, I just want to know what happened.”

“I could’ve hurt you,” Eddie shakes his head, looking away again. Richie actually chuckles, and Eddie didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse.

“Probably, that shit was powerful, but that’s not the point,” Richie says, shrugging slightly. “I just want to know what happened, you always tell me to share what I’m feeling, now the tables have turned.” Richie jokes, nudging Eddie. The smaller boy sighs, looking down.

“I got frustrated cause I couldn’t do it.” He murmurs.

“Did something happen at home?” Richie asks, and Eddie practically flinches at the question. Because _that_ … that hit too close for comfort. “C’mon Eddie Spaghetti, talk to me.” Richie whines, and yet he managed to keep all kind of judgement out of his voice.

“My mom has just been so overbearing ever since the fight,” Richie nods, glancing at the cast still around Eddie’s wrist. It wasn’t like he necessarily forgot the cast was there, of course he couldn’t when the big letters writing “LOSER” was still staring right back at him, almost as if the red V didn’t change anything.

But it didn’t really impact Eddie’s powers, or his ability to fight.

“That’s not everything right?” Richie inquires softly, watching Eddie carefully. Eddie bites his lip again, and he can taste a little blood.

“It’s just… she’s been threatening to keep me in Derry after I graduate, and I know she can’t like legally stop me but she’s not letting me get any job, and she’s just trying to keep me here. And I’m just so scared that I can’t leave and I just… I felt like I had to prove myself. If I can’t get this right, then…-” Eddie trails off, staring numbly at his hand.

He twirled it slightly, a slow gush of wind appearing for a moment before he closes it again.

“You felt like you needed to prove yourself today as a way to show yourself you can take care of yourself?” Richie muses, and Eddie nods.

“I know it’s stupid, I shouldn’t-” Eddie starts but Richie shakes his head.

“It’s not stupid Eds, far from it,” Richie frowns, and Eddie looks at him. “I know you don’t want to see it your mom… she’s mental dude. What she doing is abuse, and your reaction is normal. I’d be scared shitless too.”

“But I shouldn’t have attacked you Rich, I could’ve hurt you!” Eddie cries out, and Richie shrugs.

“I mean yeah, I hope we can prevent it from happening again, but don’t apologise for your reaction, it happens.” Richie says, looking away from Eddie for the first time. “It’s important to talk about it, so it doesn’t happen again. This isn’t the way I want to teach you how to use your powers.” Richie shakes his head.

“It won’t.” Eddie states firmly, and Richie nods at that.

“Besides, if you put up with me freaking out cause you threw away my dessert, then I can put up with your reaction to Sonia being a bitch.” Richie grins.

“You dropped it on the floor Rich, that’s disgusting!” Eddie screeches, and Richie barks out a laugh at Eddie’s reaction, and even Eddie chuckles. The two boys laugh, slowly falling into a comfortable silence. For a moment, neither of them talk, and Richie sits there contently with a lazy smile on his face.

But Eddie looks at Richie, not getting that freaking sentence out of his head. _This isn’t the way I want to teach you how to use your powers_. The way he said it… he had sounded so vulnerable when he said it. Eddie could hear it all too well it seemed like, as if the emotions were written on his forehead.

“Rich?” Eddie asks softly, causing Richie to look up with a curious look on his face. “That first day when we met you, when we talked in the living room, remember that?” Eddie starts hesitantly, and Richie frowns slightly.

“Yeah, kinda. Why?” Richie shrugs.

“You don’t have to answer but… that day you said something to us-” Eddie stops himself, biting his lip again, and he could almost hear his mother scolding him in his head. “You mentioned the silence room.” Eddie finishes with a soft voice. Richie sucks in a sharp breath, cringing at the mention.

For a moment Eddie was sure he was overstepping, but Richie sighs softly, glancing down.

“It was the worst punishment they gave me,” Richie whispers, starting hesitantly, he takes another shuddering breath, and Eddie frowns.

“What does it mean?” Eddie asks, deciding to push slightly. But he still tried to keep his voice steady, as soft as he could to make sure Richie _knew_ that he didn’t have to tell him anything if he didn’t want to.

Richie takes another breath, stomach churning. “It was a room… and they had fixed the wall with that foam to take up the noise and…-” Richie swallows again, scratching his arms. “My powers… they only work if there’s sounds and they would drag me in that room as... punishment.” Richie grinds out, breath hitching.

Eddie glances down for a moment, but he stays silent for a moment, allowing Richie to take the time he needs.

“It wasn’t just once either or anything y’know? I mean shit Eds, I was like 6 when they took me, I was scared shitless… but eventually… I don’t how but I realised that I could still be in control of _myself_ when I talked back. So I started mouthing off, and it made me feel so.. in control. And I know it’s stupid but I couldn’t stop-” Richie sucks in a sharp breath.

Eddie could see he was getting more and more worked up, and the shorter boy almost wanted to stop him, but Richie seemed to deflate suddenly, blowing out a shuddering breath.

“So I continued doing it, and they… they started beating me. I stopped for a moment…. shit-“ Richie curses, rubbing his head. “Those bearings hurt like a motherfucker but eventually…I just started to not care almost.” Richie whispers.

“What do you mean?” Eddie whispers and Richie looks up, tears in his eyes.

“One of my roommates, before Georgie… like way before… he was like me, but even worse and one day he was annoying them too much… and they killed him for it.” Richie whispers, barely able to say it. And Eddie knew where this was going… he knew it. “So I tried to annoy them as well… in the hope that they would also… yknow … kill me.” Richie tries to shrug, play it off as something minor.

But Eddie could see it was anything but minor. Richie had just admitted that he had tried to get himself killed just to get out of this life, and the way Richie hunched into himself said enough.

“I don’t wanna die Eds, I really don’t but I just… I wanted to escape from that lab, no matter how I did.” Richie whispers, desperation in his eyes, begging Eddie to believe him and Eddie nods.

“I get it Rich, I believe you.” Eddie says, and Richie takes a shuddering breath, nodding as well. “What happened then?” Eddie asks cautiously, but Richie didn’t seem offended by the question, gazing down.

“They didn’t kill me… I mean shit they told me I was too valuable for them to kill or some shit.. so instead they beat me more… but I didn’t care about that anymore, and I just continued. If I could just push them a little more yknow?” Richie says and Eddie stays silent. “So one day, I was in my room, and I wasn’t even doing anything but they came in and dragged me out and into this… room, and they-“ Richie stops, a sob interrupting him.

Eddie stays silent, watching Richie with tears in his eyes as the younger boy tried to tell what happened.

“They chained my hands behind my back and put these headphones on so I couldn’t hear anything… and t-then they just… they left me there and t-they didn’t come back for d-days, and I… I couldn’t hear anything… and I… it was dark in the room.. and they didn’t feed me and I was so thirsty …” Richie sobs again, clutching his chest.

Eddie’s resolve broke, tears streaming down his face and he leans forwards, wrapping his arms around Richie. The curly haired boy immediately accepts, burying his face in Eddies shoulder and letting loose, tears streaming down his face in endless waves.

“They left me Eds… they left me for d-days and I was s-so sca-ared and I… shit I fucking s-soiled myself and… they f-fucking laughed at me… they t-thought it was funny and they dragged m-me b-back… and just… left me to f-fend for myself.” Richie sobbed, face hiding from the world.

Eddie just held him, couldn’t even get himself to say anything even if he planned to. Richie sobs, trying to compose himself. He sniffles wiping at the tears in an attempt to get rid of them, but more just replaced hem.

“Richie I… I had no idea, that’s horrible.” Eddie whispers, and Richie shrugs, leaning back but glancing at Eddie with a grateful expression. A thank you for being there, for _listening_.

Eddie doesn’t react like Richie hopes, instead, a frown appears on his face.

“Don’t do that Rich,” Eddie whispers, and Richie freezes for a moment. “Please don’t downplay it, don’t bottle it up.”He clarifies and it only takes Richie a second to realise, tears jumping in his eyes.

“I-I just…” Richie murmurs, looking down. “I never a-allowed myself to…”

“To look back?” Eddie supplies softly, and that’s when the tears dropped. Eddie reaches forwards again, wrapping Richie in a hug. Richie clung to him, sobbing silently again, but more openly, less restrained. And he just let it all out, all the hurt, all the memories, he allowed the tears to wash it away.

Even if he knew the memories would always stain.

Eventually Richie sniffles, staying silent as he glances at Eddie, wiping at his tears and looking at Eddie without trying to _hide_.

“Shit Marie was right.” Richie mumbles. “Thanks for listening Eddie Spaghetti.”

“That’s not my name.” Eddie grumbles, and Richie chuckles, and no matter how much Eddie wanted to stop it, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight, because while the laugh was soft, hesitant, and Richie’s eyes were still tinted red from the crying…

It was a genuine laugh.

*

*

*

“How does it work?” Stan asks, anxiety all too clear in his voice as he stared at the instruments laid out on the table. He unconsciously took a step back from the table.

“It’s a small chip that will basically disturb the signal that your powers send out to notice other Supers, but it won’t take away your ability to receive the signal from others,” Becky explains, rolling up her sleeve just a bit and pointing at the spot where her chip has been inserted.

Stan frowns as Becky prods at the spot, showing the chip hiding under her skin. It was barely bigger than a grain of rice, and it didn’t look like it was hurting her at all.

“We insert it with this needle, it takes just a few seconds,” Becky continues, picking up a white needle-like object from the table in front of her. It was roughly the size of Becky’s hand, Two handles on it and a hollow needle on the other side, the one often used to draw blood from someone.

Richie swallows thickly, feeling himself run cold at the sight. All the Losers were currently standing in the same room, which felt all too small suddenly for Richie, but he couldn’t get himself to move either, muscles cramping up and tensing almost painfully, but he was just _frozen_ in place.

It was just the 7 of them, with Becky on the other side of the table. Richie had agreed to do this, it was better, it would make them all safer, but that didn’t mean he _liked_ doing it, or that he was less scared now that he saw the actual instruments. They looked… they were just like the instruments the lab used.

Richie wanted to throw up, but he couldn’t move, feeling the Losers crowd around him.

He knew this day was coming, they all agreed to it after all. And they all knew Becky’s organisation was brilliant with this stuff, anf that they could definitely be trusted. Becky was Beverly’s aunt after all, and she had looked out for many of them for years, defeated the lab even.

Not to mention how her organisation took care of the Bowers gang for them. Apparently one of their members had the power of removing memories, and while it was dangerous to remove big chunks in events that were too pivotal to forget, or something that happened too long ago as it could cause irreversible brain damage or something…

The last few days of their lives however… wasn’t a problem.

So after removing their powers from them, which was only easy as they were artificially created, they removed their memories of the last few days.

Patrick was… dead, so he wasn’t a problem, and Henry got sent to a nut house as he had killed his dad before leaving. The rest were free to walk, but hadn’t bothered them ever since. Which was a small relief.

“So who’s first?” Becky asks, and her gaze landed on Richie, whether she intended to or not, he had no idea. Bev notices though, glancing at Richie with a worried expression on her face before taking a step forwards.

“I’ll go first.” Bev shrugs, walking up to her aunt and sitting down on the chair. Becky smiles softly at that, sitting down as well and holding out her hand. Bev grasps it softly, allowing her to tug at her arm softly to pull it closer. Becky got to work quickly, disinfecting the area, on the inside of her upper arm.

Bev watches with curious eyes as her aunt disinfects the area again, picking up a fresh needle, still wrapped in plastic. She takes it out carefully, taking another stick to disinfect the area on Bev’s hand again before taking a hold of the hand and watching her niece with careful eyes.

“Just a pinch,” She says softly, but Beverly chuckles, nodding. She couldn’t deny the slight nerve she was feeling, but she trusted her aunt. She gave her one last glance before pushing down carefully, inserting the chip into Bev’s arm. Bev doesn’t even wince, blinking a few times.

Bev glances at her arm, watching as her aunt pulls the needle out, putting a small bandage on top of her arm and wrapping it up.

“There, all done.” Becky smiled, and Bev takes her arm back, turning back to the rest of the Losers.

“Well?” Eddie asks anxiously, but Bev just shrugs, standing up.

“It doesn’t hurt at all, barely a pinch.” Bev says, and that seemed to be enough for Bill to walk forwards, allowing Becky to implant the chip in his arm as well. And one by one, Richie could feel more and more connections lost it seemed like, until only he and Eddie were left in the room.

Or rather, the only people in the room that didn’t have the chip yet. And Eddie could see Richie visibly paling at the prospect. 

“Enough standing around ladies, we got more to do today,” Bev eventually breaks the silence, pushing Stan and Mike towards the door. She eyes at Richie for a moment, and Richie can do nothing but grin at her as a way to thank her, saluting her by putting two fingers near his head, and sending them her way.

Bev just grins back, saluting back. Richie could just mouth a quick ‘thank you’ to her before she left the room as well.

“Are you ready Richie?” Becky asks softly, concern on her face. Richie gnaws at his lip, glancing at Eddie.

“Can I watch you first?” He asks instead, and Eddie nods, grabbing Richie’s arm and guiding him to the table, sitting down himself. Becky watches Richie from the corner of her eyes as she prepares the material, disinfecting Eddie’s arm a few times before inserting the needle and injecting the chip.

Richie blinks a couple of times as the feeling between him and Eddie were cut off, and he stared numbly as Becky quickly wraps up Eddie’s arm with the same sticky bandage, letting him go. Eddie smiles slightly, admiring the handiwork of bandages just above the cast, before turning to Richie.

“You want me to stay?” He asks, surprisingly calm and Richie can only nod. Eddie and Richie quickly change places, and Eddie takes out another chair to sit beside Richie.

“Does it help if I tell you what I’m going to do?” Becky asks softly, and Richie shrugs. Becky glances at Eddie for a moment, but the smaller boy had no idea either, and he could only be there for Richie right now. “Okay first I’m going to disinfect your arm.” Becky starts, and Richie watches as she does.

She works quickly, but silently, putting the disinfect on the table besides her and picking up a new package with the fresh needle, showing it to Richie. Richie listens numbly as Becky explains where the chip was in the needle, how it would feel and what exactly she was going to do.

“Was it true… what you said?” Richie asks softly after a short silence, just as Becky takes the needle out of the plastic.

“I said a lot of things,” Becky smiles, and Richie snorts at that, despite the nerves clear in his voice.

“About my sister helping with.. these.” Richie says, voice thick as Becky disinfects his arm one more time, bringing the needle up to his arm. Richie looks away, gritting his teeth as he feels the needle enter his arm.

“She did. She was so incredibly smart Richie, she was so much like you.” Becky smiles softly, eyes focused on Richie’s arm and injecting the chip into his arm.

“Richie and smart?” Eddie snorts softly, and Richie gapes at him.

“I have been betrayed.” He gasps, but Eddie just simply rolls his eyes, turning back to Becky.

“No it’s true, I’ve talked with Andrea and it’s clear that you were both so smart,” Becky smiles softly, pulling out the needle. “I thought you were crazy for wanting to go to school so soon, but actually think you can be on Edie’s level before the end of the semester.”

“And my sister?” Richie asks softly, voice slightly shaky. He is still looking away as Becky wraps the bandage around his arm, but he wasn’t bolting from the spot either.

“She was the best, Richie. She helped us so much with the chip, but aside from that, she was just the light in our home. We all loved her.” Becky smiles brightly, tears filling her eyes. “Every day I can just see so much more of her in you.” She adds, putting away the last stuff as a sign she was done.

She glances over at Richie with guilt in her eyes. “Are you okay?” She asks softly, barely above a whisper. Richie still doesn’t look at her, instead looking own with tears shimmering in his eyes. Richie shrugs.

“I don’t know, it’s really weird.” Richie whispers softly. “I thought she had died that day, I had made peace with that as far as I could. And like I now know she didn’t die, but… she had you guys, she didn’t die alone like I feared she did.”

Richie sniffles softly, brushing away the tears.

“Is it bad that I feel peace with it?” He whispers brokenly almost, and Becky’s gaze softens, reaching out for his hand and shaking her head.

“Not at all Richie,” She says, staring at him. Richie finally lifts his head, eyes still tinted red, but a faint smile on his face.

“Thank you,” He croaks, squeezing Becky’s hand back. Thanks for being there for my sister.”

Becky can do nothing but smile back at the boy, a boy that reminded her so much of his older sister, and whose smile was as precious as hers.

*

*

*

There was a soft peace hanging across the room, that was the only way Richie could describe the situation right now, the atmosphere in the air. His knees were pulled up to chest, arms loosely wrapped around them as he just stared numbly at the sight in front of him, but he felt at peace.

He felt at peace just watching his friend surround him, crowd him even.

“Richie?” Eddie mumbles softly, blinking his eyes open and glancing up at Richie. “Is everything alright?” He immediately scrambled up, mindful of the rest of the Losers around them. Richie chuckles softly, watching with soft eyes as Eddie sits down next to him, back against the wall like Richie.

“I’m okay Eds, just thinking,” Richie whispers, glancing at the rest of the Losers. They were all scattered around the room, Bill’s room. Richie still wasn’t prepared to sleep alone, so they had taken his bed into Bill’s room. It was a little crowded with two queen sized beds in the room, but Bill had used ‘cozy’ instead.

Bill and Stan were in Bill’s bed, with Bev somehow comfortably sleeping on the foot end of the bed, curled up. And Mike and Ben were both on two spare mattresses on the ground, all of them still fast asleep, even if the sun was already peeking out.

“You know you can still change your mind right?” Eddie asks softly, and Richie chuckles again, because of course Eddie understood what he was thinking about.

“And be the lame person who quits before even starting?” Richie snickers.

“Or the cool jock who skips to smoke cigarettes under the bleachers.” Eddie retorts, and Richie snorts at that before screwing up his face.

“Cigarettes are honestly so disgusting, so no thanks.” Richie laughs, shaking his head light heartedly. “No but I want to go today, I don’t want to be the newbie in the last year of Middle School, let alone a newbie who comes in later.”

“It won’t be as bad, Henry and Patrick are gone, and Vic and Belch are finally to High School, which was about time.” Eddie speaks up, and Richie smiles softly, nodding.

“Besides, I won’t be the only newcomer,” Richie says, glancing at both Bev and Mike. Now Bev was finally living with her aunt, they had even found a cute home close to the rest of the Losers for the two of them. It wasn’t that big, but it still had 3 bedrooms, one for her aunt, one for Beverly and one extra one.

And while her dad didn’t allow her to go to school in the first place, Becky had, and even supported the idea of her going to school. And Mike’s grandpa had relented as well, finally enrolling Mike for school as well, largely because he knew Mike had people to back him up at school.

Because while it had improved dramatically in the past decades, Derry was still a spiteful town.

“Can you both shut up?” Beverly mumbles tiredly, groaning into the pillow she was hoarding. “It’s way too early.” Bev complaints, eyes still closed as if she was trying to fall asleep again. Richie and Eddie both snort at the same time, and Bev quickly gives up, rolling her eyes and scrambling upwards.

She sits there for a moment, blinking as if her brain was trying to catch up before huffing out a breath, running her fingers through her unruly hair.

“How are you both awake this early?” She grumbles softly.

“Enjoying the calm before the storm,” Richie shrugs, and Eddie gives him a look, and Richie chuckles. “No it’s true, I promise. I mean it’s like 30% nerves as well…” Richie adds, and Bev chuckles, nodding.

“Can’t say I don’t feel the same,” Bev admits softly.

“We stick togetha Mrs. Marsch, can’t get rid ma today dahling.” Richie winks at Bev, and Eddie scrunches up his face at the ridiculous accent, but Bev chuckles, nodding as well.

“Mrs. Uris made sure we’re never alone, and I think we have most classes together anyways.”

“Poor teachers,” Stan mutters suddenly from the other side of the bed where Beverly was sitting on.

“I g-give Mrs. Doris 3 weeks before she ha-has a nervous breakdown.” Bill chuckles.

“Is everyone awake?” Richie gasps comically, and suddenly Mike pokes his head out from behind the bed.

“You aren’t really silent.” Mike smiles softly, and Ben sits up as well, just glancing at them silently.

“It’s almost time to get up anyways,” Richie waves off.

“It’s 6 am Richie!” Eddie gasps, grabbing the pillow from behind him and slamming it into Richie’s face, causing the rest of the Losers to burst out laughing.

*

*

“Hey honey,” Sharon greets Richie with a soft smile as he walks in, closely followed by the rest of the Losers.

“Hey,” Richie softly breaths out, and Sharon understood immediately, opening her arms for Richie to step between. Sharon tightens her arms around him, squeezing softly.

“That bad?” She whispers, watching as the rest walk into the room as well, waving at her silently as a way to greet her before walking towards the living room. Richie shakes his head in her embrace.

“No… not bad,” He mumbles, taking in a shuddering breath before pulling out of the hug. “Just overwhelming I guess, there were a lot of people, and I didn’t understand most of the material even if it was revision work.” Richie explains, and Sharon can’t help but smile softly at that.

For a moment she truly feared something more serious was going on, and while she felt for him, she was glad it wasn’t something bad.

“I know it can be a little overwhelming, but you’ll catch up with the schoolwork, remember that we’ve only been practising for a little while okay?” Sharon says softly, and Richie nods. “Now come on, Mr, and Mrs. Uris and Becky are here, we have something for you.” Sharon chuckles, brushing some hair out of Richie’s face.

The bruises had pretty much healed up, and there were only some almost healed cuts left that were barely visible as well. And Sharon was so glad to see him finally healing.

The curly haired boy frowns for a moment, but allows Sharon to take his hand, pulling him towards the living room. _That_ is why all of them wanted to go back to Bill's home after school. Like it wasn’t weird, Bill’s home kinda became a clubhouse for them in the last few weeks since their escape.

But Richie still felt something _more_ was going on, he just didn’t think too much of it.

So he silently walks over to the living room, sitting down next to Georgie. The smaller boy immediately crawls into his lap, sporting a bright grin directed at him. A grin that told him that Georgie _definitely_ knew what was going on, and what Sharon had planned. Maybe it was his idea even.

Sharon walks up to Zack, and the latter wraps an arm around her waist for a moment, glancing at him.

“We don’t want to make too much of a deal over this, and I’m not going to embarrass you with a giant speech, but we still wanted to give you something.” Sharon starts softly, looking at him with an endearing smile that was so foreign to Richie, hadn’t even experienced it _before_ the lab.

But Sharon, no, all of them were so full of love, and so willing to love him unconditionally.

It was Bill actually who pulled out a little flat package from seemingly out of nowhere, giving it to him and sitting down next to him, legs curled up underneath his own body and leaning sideways a bit. Richie ignored the stares of the other Losers, just focusing on the package for a moment.

He gently zipped it open, unfolding the flap and taking out a sheet of paper and a framed paper.

But Richie immediately understood, and he could feel tears jump in his eyes, snapping his head up to gape at Bill, before he looks at Sharon and Zack, disbelief clear on his face.

“You guys are serious?” Richie almost whimpers, feeling tears spill. “I thought.. I thought you would change your mind- are you sure?” The last part was barely audible, air forcing its way out of his throat.

“Richie, we are sure, 100%. It’s not official yet but we _want_ you, promise.” Sharon tries to reassure Richie, and Richie glances down in disbelief again, staring at the loose piece of paper. “It will take a few more months I’m afraid but we’re now legally fostering you and we’ve already started the adoption process.” She adds.

Richie almost doesn’t dare to look up, tears spilling, but there were tears of joy, and he almost felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest. Georgie wrapped his arms around his neck, squeezing and Richie’s hands started to tremble as he picks up the frame instead, staring at it.

He felt… numb almost. For a moment he felt numb. Not in a bad way, he just felt numb for a moment as he stared at the document in front of him.

His eyes roamed over the information his name, his date of birth, his … everything was there. He looks up again, mouth gaping as he had no idea what to say.

 _“Welcome back from the dead_.” Bill jokes in his head, and that was the thing that broke him out of the daze. He chokes on a laugh, more tears streaming down his face but he felt an overwhelming happiness wash over him, staring at Bill, before looking at Sharon and Zack with wide eyes.

“Oh come here.” Sharon chokes on a sob as well, and she rushes forwards, closely followed by Zack as they all huddle around Richie. And for once, Richie is too happy, and too relief to cry even more. So he just relishes in the feeling, feeling his _family_ crowd around him from all sides.

Not overwhelming; safe.

“I-I…” Richie starts, licking his lips. _“_ I don’t think I can ever thank you.. enough. But thank you.” Richie whispers softly, and Georgie smiles.

“We love you too Chee!” He exclaims softly, and Richie chuckles as well, wiping at his tears and looking up to see the rest of the Losers.

“Thanks for being there for me guys, honestly…” Richie whispers, not really knowing what to say in the moment either. Bev smiles softly at him, and Stan shrugs.

“I was promised cake,” He says, but he chuckles all too quickly. Georgie immediately perks up at that.

“I made cake!” He gasps, sitting on his knees on Richie’s lap with a bright grin. “Me and mom made a cake for you to celebrate.”

“A cake for me?” Richie gasps dramatically, and Georgie nods, jumping off Richie’s lap and rushing to the kitchen quickly. Sharon laughs, sharing a look with her husband before walking after Georgie into the kitchen.

“You’re okay with this? Me becoming your.. brother?” Richie asks softly when Georgie was out of reach. Bill frowns for a moment.

“R-Richie,” Bill starts, for once, not using his powers. “I already c-consider you family, a paper isn’t going to change that. So yes, I’m okay with it.” Bill chuckles, and Richie can’t help but just… grin.

He felt happiness spread through him as Georgie came back with a self-baked cake, sporting equal smiles. He felt safe, surrounded by his friends and family. And for a moment he couldn’t feel the lack of sleep weighing him down, couldn’t feel the scars that would always be there.

He couldn’t feel the lingering fear that was always there.

He was happy, and finally home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS! So this story is officially done and I just want to thank you all so so much for all the lovely comments you made they honestly mean the world to me <333 And I can't ever express my gratitude for them. I'm so glad y'all liked this story (cause I became strangely attached to this AU as well).  
> I hope you guys liked the last chapter! Richie is gonna be fine, I promise, but I didn't want to make it too... positive I guess. He's gonna have his challenges but he'll be okay, he has the Losers, and his new family. 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts, and you can also find me on Tumblr (Arithese) and FF.net (Athese). 
> 
> I love you guys! <3


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